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ELDERLY CRIME VICTIMS: PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF FEARS AND ATTACKS

. HEARING BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMI'ITEE ON HOUSING AND CONSUMER INTERESTS

OF THE

SELECT OOMMITTEE ON AGING HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NINETY-FOURTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

HEI!D SEPTEMBER 18, 1976, IN LOS ANGELES (Including briefing heW. June 3, 1976, in Washington, D.O.)

Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Aging

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SELECT COMMITTEE ON AGING

WM. J. RANDALL, CLAUDE PEPPER, Florida SPARK M. MATSUNAGA, Hawaii EDWARD R. ROYBAL, California FRED B. ROONEY, Pennsylvania MARIO BIAGGI, New York WALTER FLOWERS, Alabama IKE F. ANDREWS, North Carolina JOHN L. BURTON, California EDWARD P. BEARD, Rhode Island MICHAEL T. BLOUIN, Iowa DON BONKER, Washington THOMAS J. DOWNEY, New York JAMES J. FLORIO, New Jersey HAROLD E. FORD, Tennessee WILLIAM J. HUGHES, New Jersey MARILYN LLOYD, Tennessee Ju,r SANTINI, Nevada TED RISENHOOVER, Oklahoma

Missouri, Ohairman

BOB WILSON, California WILLIAM C. WAMPLER, Virginia JOHN PAUL HA.iUMERSCHMIDT, Arkansas H. JOHN HEINZ III, Pennsylvania WILLIAM S. COHEN, Malne RONALD A. SARA SIN, Connecticut WILLIAM F. WALSH, New York CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa GILBERT GUDE, Maryland

ROBERT M. HORNER, Staff Director LYLE MCCLAIN, Ooullsel

MARTHA JANE MALONEY, Professional Staff AS8istant V. BERNICE KING, Financial Secretary

SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

(WM. J. RANDALL, Missouri, Oliail'man oj t7UJ fuZZ committee, and 'BOB WILSON, California, Ranking lllinority ,Member, are members of all su.bcommittees, ex offielo.)

SUBCO:l.!MITTEE No. i-RETIREMENT INCOME AND E:I.!PLOYMENT

WM. .T. RANDALL, WALTER FLOWERS, Alabama JOHN L, BURTON, California MICHAEL T. BLOUIN, Iowa DON BONKER, Washington THOMAS J. DOWNEY, New York

Missouri, O/tairmcm WILLIAM C. WAMPLER, Virginia CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa GILBERT GUDE, Maryland

MICHAEL W. MURRAY, Majority Staff N/.NCY HOBBS, Minority Staff

SUBCOMMITTEE No.2-HEALTH AND LONG-TEBM CARE

CLAUDE PEPPER, Florida, Oliairman

IKE F. ANDREWS, North Carolina II. JOHN HEINZ III, Pennsylvania EDWARD P. BEARD, Rhode Island WILLIAM S. COHEN, Maine JAMES J. FLORIO, New Jersey MARILYN LLOYD, Tennessee

ROBERT S. WEINER, Majority Staff ELLIOT STERN, Minority Staff

JI!-r" .-I.

SUBCOMMITTEE No.3-HouSING AND CONSUMER INTERESTS ~' '. ,

EDWARD R. ROYBAL, California, O1Hzil'man

FRED B. ROONEY, Pennsylvania JOHN PAUL HAl\:lMERSCHl\IIDT, Arkansa~s ..' HAROLD E. FORD, Tennessee WILLIAM F. WALSH, New York .• JIM SANTINI, Nevada

, JOSE S. GARZA, Majority Staff

PATRICIA C. LAWRENCE, Minority Staff ~ .. , ,," .'

SUBCOMMITTEE No. 4--FEDERAL, STATE, AND COMMUN:r:rY SERVICES

SPARK M. MATSUNAGA, Hawaii, Ollah'mun

MARIO BlAGG!, Nc\" York BOB WILSON, California WILLIAM 3'. HUGHES, New Jersey RONALD A. SARASIN, Connecticut TED RISENHOOVER, Oklahoma

EDWARD F. H\vARD, Majority Staff ROBETTA BRETSCH, Minority Staff

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CONTENTS

Date held-September 18,1976 (hearing) ___________________________________ _ Afternoon session ___________________________________ ~ _____ _

June 3, 1976 (briefing) ________ .--- _____________________________ _ September 18,1976, morning session:

Statements of-Azarnoif, Roy, director, Los Angeles City Area Agency on Aging __ Bojorquez, Viola __________________________________________ _ Devine, Frances __________________________________________ _

Elkins, William, special assistant to the mayor of the city of Los Angeles _________________________________________ • __ _ Estrade, Carles _______________________________________ ,. ___ _ Garcia, Esther ___________________________________________ _

Glassman, Jay, director of plll.nning, Los Angeles County Depart­ment of Senior Citizens' Affairs, Area Agcncy on Aging Divi-sion ________________________________________ --- ________ _

Harris, Helen ___________________ .: __________________ ,. ___ •. __ Hernandez, Augustin _________________ • ___________________ _ Hernandez, Jesus, National Organifllation Pro Spanish-Speaking Elderly ________________________________________________ _ Loya, Francis ____________________________________________ _ ]dagdaleno, Jennie ________________________________________ _ Nunez, Irma _____________________________________________ _

Potovsky, ]dildred, member, Los Angeles City Council on Aging __ Rostami, Antonia! director, outreach and escort program, City

of Los Angeles, and teacher of SOCial psychology, Los Angeles City schools ____________________________________________ _

Sundeen, Richard, assistant professor, School of Public Admin. istration, University of Southern California _________________ _

September 18,1976, afternoon session: Statements of-Chavoya, ]dsJ.'ia Elena _____________________ ~ _______________ _

Cisneros, Concba _______________ .. _________________________ _ Coben, Itodman __________________________________________ _ ])uarte,Jos6 _____________________________________________ _ DuVernay, EtheL ________________________________________ _ Ferrierj]dargery ________________________________ ~-------_._ FranCis, Anthony, State of California, attorney general's office __ Holzberger, Emma _________________________________________ _ Jarreau, Elra _____________________________________________ • 1[arhlnez,Jesus ___ • __________________ • ______ ~ _______ " _____ _ ]).{cConnell, L. R. C _______________________________________ _ ]ditchell, Lillian __________________________________________ _

]dossman, Lt. William, Bunco Section, Los Angeles Police Depart-ment _____________________ • ___________ . _________________ _

~ictaa~~s~~;Ali~~~~l~~O~~~ ~_t~::~~c~_~~ ~~~~:::= =========== Stern! Bernie ______________________________________ • ___ .. __ _ Stroud, Dolores ___________________________________________ _ Tesluck,l. Elizabeth P _______________________ .- _____________ _ Wolfe, o:;gt. John, Crime Prevention Section, Los Angeles Police Department ______________ ~ ____________________ - _______ _

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June 3, 1976 (briefing): Statemelllts of-Bennet,. Lucille ___________________________________________ _

Brown, Louise H _________________________________________ _ Bryan, Mrs ______________________________________________ _ Cousins, Rosetta ___________________ ,, _____________________ _ Fauntroy, Hon. Walter E., a Delegate in Congress from the District of Columbia ____________________________________ _ Glaude, Francis __________________________________________ _ Harris, Richard __________________________________________ _

~~i~e~~a~~:==========================================: MOl'eland,Lt. Kenneth V., commander, Check and Consumer

Fraud Section!,.... Criminal Investigation Division, Washington Metropolitan lJolice Forcei accompanied by Detective Sgt. R0bert Eldridge, Detective Sgt. Donald 1l,fcCathran, and Vernon Gil, general counsel, Metropolitan Police Department __ Muldrow, Willard ________________________________________ _

Neal, Virginia ____________________________________________ _ Pierre, Mrs. Tomm _______________________________________ _ Robinson, David _________________________________________ _ Russo, Albert, deputy director, Department of Human Resources_ Wylie, Sinclair ___________________________________________ _

APPENDIX: Additional statements submitted for the record by­Alarc6n, Renaldo, president, G!I.rfield Community Adult School, Senior

Citizens Advisory Council (for Sept .. 18, 1976 hearing} __________ _ District of Columbia's Commission on Aging (for June 3, 1976 briefing} ___________________________________________________ _

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ELDERLY CRIME VICTIMS: PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF FEARS AND ATTACKS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMB:ER 18, 1976

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESE1:'TATIVES, SUBOOMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND CONSUl'IER INTERESTS,

SELECT COl'IMl'ITEE ON AGING, L08 Angele8, Oalif·

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice~ at 9 :30 a.m., LincOln Heights Recreation Center, 2303 'Vo,rkman Stl:eet, Los Angeles, Ca1if., Hon. Edward R. Roybal (chairman of the subcommittee) pl'esidin~.

Committee members present: Representatives Roybal of California and John Paul Hammerschmidt of Arkansas.

Mr. ROYBAL. Ladies and gentlemen, the meeting will conie to order. This is the Subcommittee on Housing and Consumer Interests OT. the House Select Committee on Aging. As you know, we. have juris­diction over honsing, property tax relief, consumer problems, legal services, fraud, and other crimes.

Today o-q.r inquiry will focus on crimes committed against the elderly. This is the seventh of a series of hearings that this subcom­mitt~ has held. Our hearings are designed to determine the extent of elderly victimization and to determine what the Federal Govern­ment can do to help State and local governments to reduce crime. This subcommittee will assess the impact of criIne on 'the individual and develo;p a report which will include both legislative and progra~nmatic remedIes.

Some of you may remember we were here last year examining the housing problems of the elderly. As a resnlt 0:£ those hearings the subcommittee pu.blished a report that outlined a series of recom­menda,tions to improve housing for our senior citizens. As a direct result, Congress appropriated $3'.3 billion for housing for the elderly. The rent subsidy l)rogram was changed to spur new construction and to make it easier for senior citizens to receive rental assistance.

People complain that government does not do anything. Well, it does but it cannnot be very effective unless we get some input from the people themselves. It is important that you come to us with your ideas and with your support. .

We are very fortunate to.have with us this morning the ranking minority member of the subcommittee, Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt, from the great State of Arkansas. I am very proud to say that Mr. Hammerschmidt has been one of the leaders on the Republican side of the floor who has fought to get funding for pro­grams to assist senior citizens.

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May I also say that this has been a bipartisan approach and effort. Mr. Hammerschmidt has been most cooperative. He is most interested in the problems of senior citizens, and I can assure you that we can always count on him when we need another vote and when we need some' work on the other side of the aisle. Congressman Hammer­schmidt does his homework well. He does his work well, and he has produced 100 percent.

I would like to welcome you, Congressman, to my district and to have you meet some of my constituents whom you will meet here this mornmg and this afternoon.

Mr. lIAM:MERSOHMIDT. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am very pleased to return to the 25th Congressional District of Cali­fornia to be with my good friend and my leader, Ed Roybal.

As Mr.. Roybal mentioned, we held hearings last year here for the purpose of understanding what senior citizens considered to be m1tjor housing and community problems, -and also to find out what you rec­ommend as solutions to those problems. We learned a great deal from you at those hearings and returned to Washington with a clearer di­rection. I would like to share with you some of the progress that has been made in the year since our meeting out here 111 Los Angeles­progress that affects senior citizens.

As Mr. Roybal mentioned, $3.3 billion was appropriated for hous­ing for the elderly, to be utilized during the next 3 years. Funding for the Older Americans Act was increased by $24.5 million, and for the first time, funds were appropriated for the construction of senior centers.

I also want you particularly to know that Mr. Roybal was very in­strumental in the passage of all this legislation. He has devoted a great portion of his time to sensitizing other Members of Congress to the needs of the elderly, partiCUlarly the minority elderly who indeed deserve representation in Government.

So we are here today to probe a specific issue-the problem of crime against the elderly. 'We in Wv.shington have to Imow what is happen­ing in communities throughout the country and have come this morn­~ng so that you can share your experiences with us. Many of you have Ideas, recommendations, and perhaps solutions to the problem. We, therefore, turn to you again-you out heX'e in the community-to lis­ten., to learn, and to work together for change.

Mr. Chairman, I know you have a great number of witnesses. So I suggest we begin hearing them. .

Thank you. . Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you for those very kind remarks. Before we

start with our first witness, I would like to take you back behind the scenes. to tell you something that happened in the House of Repre­sentatIVes that is unprecedented. It hadn't happened before.

I sit on .the Committee on Appropriations. This.is the committee that handles the money. More than $456 billion will be appropriated, money that goes throughout the world, actually. Most of it is spent, of course, in the United States. But as a member of that committee, I witnessed one afternoon a presentation that had never been made be­fore to our committee, and that is that the full leadership of the Com­mittee on Aging went before that Committee on Appropriations to plead 'their cause. I want to bring that to yOU1' attention because it

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shows the tremendous coordination of activity that exists in the Se­lect Committee on Aging-th« four chairmen of the subcommittees plus their minority leaders on the other side, getting together, both Re­publica:L1s and Democrats, and pleadillg the cause for more funds for senior citizens. With that kind of coordination, and with that kind of dedication on both sides, it seems to me that as time goes on we will not only be able to get $3.3 billioll; we will be able to increase it and eventually meet the needs of the sen~or citizens throughout the United States.

We have held hearings in various States, and we have come to • realize that there is a pattern-a senior citizen, regardless of where

he lives, has approximately the same problems. They are problems in transportation, problems of finance, problems of health. All of these things are matters that have been presented to this committee, and

, i every member of that committee is aware of those problems. The presentation that was made that afternoon to the Committee on Ap­propriations was one that could not be denied by the committee, and that is the reason, I believe, that we were able to get $3.3 billion that afternoon.

Our first witness this morning is Bill Elkins, who is the special as­sistant to the mayor of the city of Los Angeles. Mr. Elkins, as you know, has been quite active in this field. He is considered one of the expertsJ and he works for a man who, in my opinion, has done !til excellent job in the city of Los Angeles.

Mr. Elkins, will you proceed in any way that you may desire.

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM ELKINS, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE MAYOR OF THE OITY OF LOS ANGELES

Mr. ELKIN'S. Congressman Roybal, Congressman Hammerschmidt, lot me indicate that it is my pleasure to represent, before your commit­tee, the mayor, and to convey to your committee his commendations for the tremendous job that your committee has done in sensitizing the Nation to the needs of the elderly. We hope that you are aware that the city of Los Angeles, with the full support of the council, par­dcularly the councilmen in whose district these hearings are held this morning, has also done a tremendous job in escalating the priority of program needs relatjngto seniors. All of t}:utt has come about, Mr. Roy­b!tl und"Mr. Hammerschmidt, just du;'j';}';;; the course of the l~,st 2 to 3 years. . ,\

Vfe want you ~o kno:", that we ful.ly sup~o~t.and. welcome the dpp.0r­tumty to have mput mto the myrIad actIVItIes that Y01t1.' comID'~ttee has undertaken on behalf of the elderly. There are many agendas::,~n this country, we recognize, which have'to be moved. It is our opiniOl'l that none o~ those agendas are more important than t~e prograrrl.\ agenda relatIng to the needs of our elderly. There are In excess of \ 425,000 senior citizen~ living within the, Los Angel~s basin, ~any of\, whom fall, well 'below the federally defined poverty hnes. I thmk that""" in and of itself" is an indication of the need for funds for so ml1,ny ~""~ areas to meet their needs.

The purpose bringing you to the llos Angeles basin this morning addresses one of the highest ,priority needs as defined by the hearings

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which have been conducted through the Los Angeles Area Agency on Aging, by the monthly input coming from the dozens of senior citi­zens' clubs throughout the basin-that is the issue of crime against senior citizens. ,Ve think that it is the job of everyone, not just the seniors themselves, but the job of government, the job of the indigenous community to become more sensitive and more aware of the problem of . crime being perpetrated against seniors. We commend you for

. what you will be doing, we know, in response to the testimony that will 'be taken here this morning.

You will be pleased to know that the Los Angeles City Area Agency on Aging is about to undertake a major program with funds that will be provided throu&,h, we hope, primarily the Law Enforcement Assistance AdministratIOn. But the Office of Aging in ';V ashington has committed some $250,000 for a one-shot, uni!lue program that will enable the city, acting in concert with the pollce department, with senior citizen agencies, and with the various communities, to address the issue of crime.

I would ask at this time that you give Dr. Roy Azarnoff, who is the director of the city's area agency on aging, the opportunity to very briefly provide for the record the methodology by which we propose to address this issue.

Again, let me thank you for the opportunity to appear here this morning. lAt me indicate that we stand ready, willing and, I hope, able to work in concert with you, sir, and with your subcommittee in jmplementing any programs that you provide for the Los Angeles basin.

Thank you very much . . Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you, Mr. Elkins. It is an honor and a real pleas'"

ure to be able to coordinate our activities. As you know, the mayor and I have been friends for many years. We seem to see eye to eye. I know of his interest in this field. I know how capable hIS staff is. I know of your expertise. It seems to me that if we get all of this to­gether and a program is formulated, that we can definitely coordi­nate our activities to the point where we can be successful in its implementation.

Now, is Dr. Azarnoff present~ Mr. ELKINS. Yes, sir, he is here and I will ask him to come up here

at this time. . Mr. ROYBAL. Will you also remain here so that we can ask appro­

priate questions. Come forward, please.

STATEMENT OF ROY AZARNOFF, DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES CITY AREA AGENCY ON AGING

Mr. AZARNOFF. Congressmen, before 'beginning my remarks I would like to introduce to you some folks in the audience who have an im­pOl'tant role to play in this community. I would like to introduce Mr. Madrid, who is the presiden.t of the Federation of Senior Clubs in this area, and two members of the Los Angeles Police Department who are with us today, who have been superb in their cooperation with our efforts, Lt. Bill Mossman from the bunco-forgery squad, and Sgt. J olm vVolfe from the crime prevention unit.

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. I appreciate this Oppo~}unity to come befor~ you to once !"gain dlscuss the needs and cop~erns of the elderly resldents of the Clty of Los .AnO'eles. I have re~,a with great interest the hearing reports of your subcommittee which were conducted in other parts of the coun­try, and find that most of the opinions presented there are in accord with our experience and views here in Los Angeles. Therefore, I will attempt not to waste your time by going over information and ideas with which you are already familiar.

Instead, I would like to focus on the issues as we see them in Los Angeles, and the responses which we hope to generate. Later this mornill£ you will be hearing testimOllY of officers of the Los Angeles Police lJepartment, so I will not go into very much data about crImes against the elderly. But we will append that data to our testimony.

About 18 months ago or longer, the Attorney General's Office Crime Prevention Unit proposed to a number of agencies in the Los Angeles area that we join them in a program of crime prevention for senior citizens. This effort was a successful, multi-agency project that re­sulted in many classes being taught, radio and television announce­ments being prepared, and widespread involvement of the elderly in crime prevention activities. The theme was related to ways in which older persons could reduce the risk of victimization. The mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, and the board of supervisors of the county declared February as Preventing Crimes Against the Elderly Month. We all felt that a good effort had been made, although we had no scientific evidence to measure the results:

Lookillg back on that program, I personally have come to question its efficacy in some areas. As you are aware, the Harris poll, conducted for the National Council on the Aging, indicated that the major con­cern of a large number of senior citizens was the fear of crime. The data in Los Angeles show that the percentage of seniors who are victimized is generally ]~ss than that of the population as a whole, except for purse snatches. This has led me to wonder if our efforts to warn the elderly about crime do not increase their fears, and all the deleterious effects that these fears generate. If the assumption that fear may have more harmful effects than crime itself is correct­because many seniors are feariul, but only a few are victims-then the response should be a program which allays fears and assists the vic­tims of crime. This approach may be more effective than crime pre­vention efforts in some ways, because preventive education may in­crease fear.

To determine the effect of crime on the lives of the elderly in Los Angeles, a study was undertaken to determine which crimes older per­sons were more . likely to fall victim to. It was found that some crimes, such as fraud, have a disproportionate number ot elderly victims but are uncommon. Because of this, the effects on the lIves of the elderly as a group from these crimes are §mall.

The most common cdmes itmong elderly viet-ims in Los Angeles, as previously suggested, are street robberies. The fear of these crimes keeps many senior citizens prisoners in their own homes. There is no way to estimate the loss to the elderly from the fear of being victimized,

To meet this challenge; the city of Los Artge1es has joined with several other major cities to develop the elderly victimization preven-

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tion and assistance program. The elderly victimization prevention and assistance program of Los Angeles is an integral part of a, national program of proposals submitted for funding consideration by the Ad Hoc Planning Consortium of National Aging Organizations. In con­cert with these other major U.S. cities, Los Angeles is proposing to develop and implement a 3-year program effort designed to demon­strate ways in which crimes and their negative effects on elderly per­sons can be reduced.

The program proposal hag been developed in Los Angeles through a cooperative effort of the following city deJ;>artments and offices-and I suggest to you that may not be common lll'practice-the Office tor the Aging, the Counci,~ on Aging which is our Senior Citizen Advisory Council, the police department, the Office of Criminal Justice Plan­ning, the Community Analysis Bureau, the Office of the City Attorney, tho City Administrative Office, and the Recreation and Parks De­partment. It has been a joint effort of many, m{\;ny departments.

The overall program goal is to significantly reduce elderly victim­ization which involves personal violence or threat of personal violence, to increase the free movement of elderly persons in their neighbor­hoods, and to reduce the impact of crime on victims.

The design an,d focus of this programmative effort will be to pro­vide comprehensive services to victIms in a segmental approach to communlty crime prevention and victim assistance. Action by private citizens is at the heart of community crime prevention. There is a direct relationship between participant base-that is, senior citizens­which consists of members of the specific potential victim population, and specifically targeted crimes-that is, crimes of particular concern to that £;roup. TJ1US, a group of potential victims is concerned specifi­cally WIth preventing crimes against members of the group. In this case, of course, we are referring to senior citizens.

The principle of specialized treatment for older persons has be­come a well-established part of public policy in several areas including property tax relief and rate-reduced public transportation. There has also been a movement for special legislation providing greater pro­tection and greater criminal penalties for crimes committed against persons over 60 in some States, including California and North Caro­lina. The differential imJ;>act of crime on older persons may be classi­fied according to economIC, physical, and psychological factors.

Let us take economic factors first, and briefly. Older retired people typically live on fixed incomes which are often near or be,]ow the pov­erty line. Thus, for example, the loss of $35 as the result of a purse snatching may not be significant in terms of the FBI index, yet it can represent 2 weeks of food for an elderly widow. 'rhe diminishing in­come shapes the economic impact on older victims, not only in terms of loss of money, but in terms of replacing property and paying for medical expenses following an injury.

Let us take physical factors. One of the greatest fears of the older person is a fall. Older bones may be brittle and break rather easily. A leg or hip that is broken in a fall during a mugging 01' purse snatch­ing can mean immobility and dependency for a prolonged period. It can result in beinlJ; permanently confined to a whe. elchair or even an institution. A victIm's age can be a ~ignificant factor 1n assessing the t-9talimpact of crime.

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Let us take psychological factors. Stemming from. the economic and physical factors is the knowledge and fear of what an instance of victimization can mean. Bunden's survey research has revealed t.hat at any age, fear is a silent escort of many Americans should they yen­ture out or their homes at night. Fear is the roommate of the urba.n dwellel' as burglary rates continue to rise. ]'01' the older person, often in self-confined adaptation to the environment, old t~ge is increasingly a time of being alone and of being physically impaired. These condi­tions escalate vulnerability to crime and, hence, the fefu' of crime. To the extent that the older person has relatively more to lose, the bal-· ance of fear can be considerable.

The differential impact of crime on older persons is based on spe­cial factors inherent in the condition of aging which increase vulner­ability, and public policies and societal attitudes which c!tn contribute to this vulnerability and make victimization very dfficult.

The criminal is not a sportsman, He seeks out all easy mark, the sure thing, the vulnerable. An older person is often relatively weaker than a potential assailant and, therefore, less able to escape or fight back. .

Diminished income and patterns of social change combine to result in many older people living in high-crime neighborhoods. Suburbia is rarely a viable alternative since low-income, single-person residen­tial units are nncommon.

The general case for senior citizen cdme prevention involvement to complement, not replace, general prevention activities may be summed up as follows:

One, participants ·have a greater stake in and commitment to the program. Strong participant identification with potential victims in­creases the persona] significance of the program and develops group identification and self-reliance.

In addition, participants will have greater legitimacy in the com­munity being served. Two~ the segmental apPl'oach encourages the development of leaders

from the specific popUlation group who can, ill turn, stimulate addi­tional involvement from the community. These leaders can also be valuable resources to established law enforcement agencies since they will be particularly aware of the specific crime problems of their group .

Three, more emphasis can be placed on the specific crimes committed against the group. Crimes which miLy not be of great concern to the popUlation in genel'al and, therefore, which have not been of high priority in other crime prevention programs will rec~iv.e attention. For example, among the elderly, hearing aid fraud 1l1lght be such a crime.

Older persons have certain qualities which make them particularly effective participants: time, knowledge and experience. Within the elderly popUlation thers is a wealth of expertise and ski11which can be utilized in crime prevention activities. Retired persons also have the time ne<lessary to devote to establishing and maintaining a good program. These resources have been undel'utilized by society. But the increasing need for crime prevention twtivity and the increasing rates of crime against older persons have stimulated involvement by older persons in the fight against crime.

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The thrust of our crime prevention program will address the fol­lowing: Street crimes-t}le most important crimes and how to avoid them; burglary-ways td"~rotect the home; fraud and bunco, confi­dence games, bunco schemes \'ud white collar crimes; and fourth, com­munity-police relations-ho~l li!.d;;'vidual citizens can cooperate with law enforcement agencies to reduce crime.

Increasing crime rates have stimulated innovation in crime preven­tion programs throughout the Nation. The necessity for community involvement in crime prevention is clear. The criminal justice system cannot solve the crime problem without strong community involve­ment. The segmental approach to community crime prevention adds another dimension to the relationship between the criminal justice sys­tem and the community. As th~ older participants have shown! there is great potential in the community which can and must be used t.o pre-vent and reduce crime. .

The basic program will have three target areas in which senior citi­zens working part-time will operate in teams to visit elderly persons who report that they 'are victims of a crime. These teams will provide whatever the victim may need, such as assistance with medical prob­lems, shopping counseling, et cetera. A small amount of money will be avaUable to provide emerO'ency food in cases where, for example, a social security check has been stolen. One of their most important efforts will be to ih'elp the older person understand what it is that they did to make them vulnerable to crime, and ways to prevent future occurrences. A special effort will be made to assist those persons who report a crime and need help in testifying at a trial, or preparing papers, or with any activities which would facilitate the apprehension and conviction of criminals.

Other activities will include neighborhood development programs which will help to bring the community together to support each other by looking after one another. 'I'here will also be a program to inform the general public of the need to take appropriate meaBures to reduce t,he risk from criminals.

Three target areas were selected in the city. The combination of these areas contains a total elderly population of over 58,000. The over­aU percentage by groups is 19 percent black, 17 percent Latino, 62 per­cent CaucaSIan, and 2 percent other. The overall part one crime rate in these areas of 29 per thousand .is well above the city's average. The three areas contain a diversity of ethnic groups and lifestyles that are requisite for an evaluation of the differential effects of the program.

It ·has been my pleasure, Congressman, to discuss these issues in our pr<!gram with you. Funding of the program is expected shortly, w~ beheve. But the delay and disarray on the part of the Law Enforce­ment Assistance Administration has caused considerable concern, as I think you may know. W' e would cel:tainly appreciate, and we know that senior citizens would benefit from, any help from your subcommittee il,1 !lastening the ftmding of the program in Los Angeles and the other CItIes.

Thank you very much. Mr. ROYBAL. Mr. Az&rnoff, I am quite interested in the elderly vic­

timization assistance program. You have said that a certain amount of l?oney is budgeted for that purpose. Can you repeat that figure agam~

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Mr. AZARNOFF. Yes. The Administration on Aging has committed approximately $250,000 to New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, which was sup­posed to put up considerably more money than that, has not made any commitment at all despite a year of continuing negotiations with them.

Mr. ROYBAL. All right, the $250,000 'vill come from where ~ Mr. AZARNOFF. AOA-the Administration on Aging. Mr. ROYBAL. All right, and the rest of the money 1 Mr. AZARNOFF. It would come from LEA A-the Law Enforcement

Assisilance Administration. Mr. ROYBAL. LEAA has not as yet committed their share of the

funds~ Mr. AZARNOFF. That is correct. Mr. ROYBAL. How much is projected for the whole program ~ Mr. AzARNOFF. Well, the total program would cost about $6 million

for the eight cities. Ii

Mr. ROYBA:£,. Can you name the cities that would be involved ~ Mr. AZARNOFF. Yes; I certainly can. New York, Ohicago, and Los

Angeles are the three which will be funded in part by the Administra­tion on Aging. The other cities are New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee. Then there is to be another grant to the Black Oenter on Aging which will run programs in Washington and Detroit. So there will be eight cities altogether.

Mr. ROYBAL, Do you know whether or not LEAA has fUJids avail­able 01' appropriated for that purpose?

Mr. AZARNOFF. Well, they have been saying for the last year, Con­. gressman, that they have the money an~ they want to ~un this pro­

gram. But they 'haven't gotten around to J.t, and we are qUIte concerned n,bout it. .. C'I

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, they have saJ.d a lot of thmgs f6i' the last year that haven't happened. So I was inquiring as to whether or not this is one of the other things that they preach but don't practice.

Mr. ELKINS. I wonder if I could make just a quick addendum to those remarks.

There is no question~ Congressman Roybal and Congressman Ham­merschmidt, that LEAA has funds which can be utilized for this purpose. We don't know why they have not participated. We want you to understand the original concept was to involve moneys contributed not just by the Office on Aging in Washington, but also by LEAA, by HUD, and by one additional agency, CSA.

The big money for this experiment in the cities nanled by Dr. Aza~~~ noff was to have come from LEU. LEU, for l'easons that are un­lmown to us, has not choBen to fulfill the commitment that it made. The others are going ahead with their contributions to the pool of money that will be utilized by those cities. But because the funds from LEAA are not forthcoming, the proO'ram will not be as large as we had en­visioned. It is so important, t~ough, that we want you tokllOW we aI'e going to go ahead with it using the lesser am6unts contributed by lTIJD\ by the Administration on Aging, and by CSA. Los Angeles would be entitled to $250,000-i£ LEAK were participating, it would be close to double that amount, and we could do so much more.

:Mr. ROYBAL. An right. If LEAA does not participate, Los Angeles will have approximately $250,000.

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Mr. ELKINS; That is correct, sir. Mr. ROYBAL. If they do participate, then it would be considerably .

more and the program then will be in full force. . Mr. ELKINS. That is correct, sir. Mr. ROYBAL. Otherwise the $250,000 will only provide sufficient

funds for a moderate aJ?proach to the problem. Mr. ELKINS. That IS absolutely correct. We have been stalled for

the better part of 6 months, you know, waiting on LEAA. As I said, we are not here to demean any agency. But that is a fact.

Mr. ROYBAL. I think we are here to get the truth, and I know that what you are saying is the truth.

There is one other thing I would like to get clear in my mind and that is, first of all, the selection of the first elght cit.ies. Will this serve as a demonstration I?rogram ~

Mr. ELKINS. Preelsely. Mr. ROYBAL. Will other cities, after the demonstration has been

made, be eligible for funds to do a similar job ~ Mr. AZARNOFF. We think so, Congressman. As you know, the House

and the Senate have passed a regulation requiring every State to in­clude in their criminal justice plan for the year some means by which they will deal with the problem of crime against senior citizens. So we hope that some of the funds which are being made available as part of the criminal just.ice block grants to the States will be used for this purpose throughout the United States.

Mr. ROYBAL. All right, now you. said the police department would be one of the participants in this program. . Mr. AZARNOFF. Yes; we believe that to be true.

Mr. ROYBAL. Will they be really involved in the program to a point ~vhere changes may ,hav~ to be made, if necessary1 WIthin ,th,e pol~ce department so that It WIll be able to gather suffiCIont statIstlCs WIth regard to the senior citizens ~ .

Mr. AZARNOFF. Congressman, we are now negotiating with the de­partment about what role they w.ill play. They have been e:l>.1;remely cooperative up to this point, and I envision no difficulty with them.

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, I am glad to hear that because in the hearings we have held elsewhere, we have heard that police departments don't even keep statistics with regard to age. When you ask them how many people over 60 have been victimized one way or another, they have been unable to provide those statistics.

Mr. AZARNOFF. We will be submitting that, Congressman, as part of our testimony to you. I know that. the police officers who will be reporting to you later will also be prOVIding statistics.

Mr. ROYBAL. In other words, the Los Angeles Police Department does keep statistics.

Mr. AZARNoFF.Yes; they do. Mr. ROYBAL. I am glad to hear that. I have always heard that they

were the Nation's best and I have always wanted to'believe that. Now, may I say, I do believe it. .

Mr . .AzARNOFF. We are pleased to support that opinion. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you. Mr. Hammerschmidt? Mr. HAMMERSOHMIDT. Where did the concept originate for this

pilot program that will be in eight cities? Whe.re did it emanate from ~

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Mr. AZARNOFF. The original concept came from a number of studies that were done. You may be familiar with some of them. One of them was inl{ansas City. The city of Milwaukee made this proposal and invited a1l of the larger cities which had been involved in one of several previous studies to join with them in making an application to LEAA. That is how it got started. .

We formed an ad hoc consortium of the cities. Mr. HAMMERSCHMIDT. So it reany emanated from the grassroots

level, so to speak-fr.om the mayor's level in the cities. Mr. AZARNOFF. That is correct. Mr. HAlHIERSCHMIDT. Under the auspices of LEAA ~ Mr. AZARNOFF. No; we approached several funding sources, includ­

,ng the Administration on Aging and the Community Services Ad­ministration. I actually think that the original concept came from a request from Milwaukee that we get together and try to provide a pro~am. .~

Mr. HAMMERSCHMIDT. Will this LEAA money come out of discre­tionary funds ~

Mr. AZARNOFF. I don't know, Congressman. Mr.- HAMMERSCHMIDT. Well, most LEAA funds are in the form of

block grants. MI'. AZARNOFF. That is correct. Mr. HAMlIERSCHMIDT. So the money must come out of the discre­

tionary funds. Mr. ELKINS. It is my understanding, Congressman, that we were

talking about unexpended funds that are variously described as drop­out funds-moneys which have in fact been allocated but not expended for the purpose originally intended. It was a question oi.whether the funds could be diverted for this purpose or revert back to the general fund.

Mr. HAlIMERSCHMIDT. Do you think a lega.! question is holding this up~

Mr. ELKINS. No, sir. Mr. HAMMERSCHMIDT. Has the general counsel made a reading on

it~ Mr. ELKINS. No, sir. It is not a legal question. It is simply a matter

of LEAA finding its way out of the problem&-psychological and otherwise-that they appear to be caught up in, in terms of what kinds of programs they want to support. I think you need to know that when they were first approached-the mayor of this city, along with .tl~e mayors of the other cities-personally' consulted with the Admmlstrator of LEAA. He was totally comIDltted to the program. We cannot account for the reason or their recalcitrance in moving ahead. We do hope that th~y will move on it.

Mr. HAMMERSC;f.IMIDT. Can you use community development block grant money £01' this sort of program ~

'/ - Mr. AZARNOFF. We not only can but we are planning to. One of our council districts is already in the process of requesting $100,000 to run a similar program in another area thhn the three we have chosen.

Mr. IIAlIMERSOHMIDT. How about revellue sharing ~ Mr. AZARNO~. That is also possible, aithough at this time we have

no plans for that. Mr. HAMMERSOHMIDT .. I see. Well, of COUr$e, you are obviously

excellent witnesses and we could ask you questions all morning. But I

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notice we have eight others. So we very much appreciate your testi­mony and your fine responses.

Mr. AZARNOFF. Thank you very much. Mr. ELKINS. Thank you very much. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you <both very much. The next two witnesses have asked to testify for 5 minutes and we

will ask them to come forward. Viola Bojorquez will be the first. Will you proeeed in any way that you may desire.

STATEMENT OF VIOLA BOJORQUEZ

Ms. BOJORQUEZ. I would like to have protection for all the senior citizens. It is-very dangerous for us. I know how it is because I have been robbed. rVe are scared to go to any part of the city because we might be hit. I would like to do all in my power for the senior citizens because they are very good people. I think we need protection.

Mr. ROYBAL. Mrs. Bojorquez, can you tell t.p.e subcommittee how you were robbed and when ~

Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Yes. One day I was going to one of the senior citi- < zen clubs and two young boys tried to jump me. I felt my purse being snatched-somebody pulled my purse. I hollered but I couldn't get help.

Then I was robbed once again in K-Mart. Two ladies STabbed me. They took my money and my rings-my engagement rmg and my marriage ring. They told me that they were going to give me money and they didn't do it. I got really sick.

Mr. ROYBAL. When you were robbed the first time, you were robbed, you say, by two young teenagers ~

Ms. BOJORQUEZ. No, that was the second time. Mr. ROYBAL. But you were robbed by teenagers on one occasion,

and the other time was by two women ~ Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Yes. Mr. ROYBAL. Was this during the day or was itatnight~ Ms. BOJORQUEZ. It was during the day because I don't go out at

night-only with my family or somebody that I know. Mr. ROYBAL. You don't go out at night for what reason ~ Are you

a:fra1d~ Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Yes, by allmea,ns. Mr. ROYBAL. During the time that the robbery was taking place, did

you holler for help ~ Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Yes, but nobody wanted to get involved. Mr. ROYBAL. But there were people around and still they didn't

want to give you help. Ms. BOJORQUEZ. I waf'. so nervous at the time that I didn't notice. Mr. ROYBAL. W~ll, this was at the K-Mart store so no doubt there

were a lot of people around. Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Outside. But I got afraid and I didn't know what

to do. Mr. ROYBAL; How long ago was this, Ms. Bojorquez ~ Ms. BOJORQUEz. It was about 1972, around there. Mr. ROYBA!.. Al'l?und 1972, which means that from that time on you

are very much afrald to go out by yourself. Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Yes, even in the daytime now.

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Mr. ROYBAL. Do you belong to a senior citizens club? Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Yes, I do . .illastmont. Mr. ROYBAL. Do you sometimes have to miss those meetings because

someone can't go with you? Ms. BOJORQUEZ. 'Well, they come for me because I don't want to miss

my senior citizens club meetings. Mr. ROYBAL. In other words, you go to the meeting and someone

picks you up and takes you to the meeting. Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Yes, and they bring me home. Mr. ROYBAL. My understanding is that you are a very active mem­

ber of your senior citizens group. Ms. BOJORQUEZ. I try. Mr. ROYBAL. I was told earlier today that you are one of the most

acti va members. . Ms. BOJORQU. EZ. Thank you. I try. I love my club very much. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you very much. Mr. Hl1mmerschmidt? Mr. HAMMERSCHMIDT. Ms. Bojorquez, I suppose thl1t we could sit

here and listen to countless hundreds of stories of victims in Los Angeles. But the fact that you have come forward to testify is ex­tremely important. Not so much because of the details of what hap" pened to you, but because you were willing to come here out of con­cern for others. I assume that it is because of that attitude that Mr. Azarnoff, Mr. Elkins, Mayor Bradley and others will build on this segment approach in the pilot program which they have in mind. So we are very appreciative for the contribution you made to us this morning. .

Ms. BOJORQUEZ. Thank you. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you very much. The next witness will be Esther Garcia.

STATEMENT OF ESTHER GARCIA

Ms. GAROIA. Mr. Hammerschmidt and Mr. Roybal, I am not pre­pared to talk this morning. I didn't know what it was all a'bout until last night really. But I am concerned about the senior citizens because I am one, although I am still very active. I am also concerned about the juveniles. I have to do so much with the senior citizens. I have ,noticed most of the crimes committed against senior citizens are by 'juveniles. I was wondering if in this program, something can be done with the juveniles, especlally at nighttIme. It would hel;!? 1£ their parents were involved, but the parents don't seem to be willIng to get involved. I think this is very, very important. I think the police de­partments, or the mayors of the cities, or the councilmen should try to get all these people together and talk to them about their teenage children, and be'more firm with them. If these young people are picked up for a crime, get the parents involved. Maybe the parents can be found and held respol)sible for the actions of their children. I think that half of the trou'lJIe is the parents-not only the teenagers. It seems like the law doesn't do much about it .

. I live in Commerce and I am happy to say that we don't have a very high rate of crime over there. But the sheriff's department is very active, and we have regular ineetings with them. I think the parents talk to. them. If a child or a young man under 18 years of age is found

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on the streets, they pick him up and they contact the parents. They catch them writing on walls; they put them to work; and they fine the parents. That seems to do a lot of good.

Mr. RoYBAL. These are some of the recommendations, Ms. Garcia, that the elderly victimization assistance program can probably put into effect. As we heard in the testimony, we were assured that the Los Angeles Police Department has been most cooperative and will con­tinue to cooperate with them. I hope that some of these recommenda­tions will be taken up and implemented.

Have you yourself boon victimized in any way in the past ~ Ms. GARCIA. No, I haven't been robbed. I have been very lucky. I

have been pushed around, but I have 'been able to-Well, I was robbed about 4 or 5 years ago, I think. My purse was

cut off of my arm. Luckily r didn't have any money. But I don't know who did it. So I couldn't tell you whether it was a juvenile, or a man, or a woman because I never saw them. I wa,'.! getting on the bus and I had packQ,ges. Somebody cut it off. But they dIdn't get anything. They got pictu:J.'es and cards. They didn't get any money because I didn't have anything in my purse. But that is the only time that I have been victimized like that. '

Mr. ROYBAL. But still you went through the experience. Ms. GAROIA. The experience, yes. Because when I got on the hus­

and the bus was already moving, all I had was the handles of my purse hanging in my hand. That was in Commerce. That was getting on the Commerce 'bus riding from Ie-Mart. We have a high rate of crime right over there in Eas.t Los Angeles.

Mr. HAMMERSOHMIDT. Just briefly, I want to thank Ms. Garcia for being here and to tell her that she has just reinforced what statistics show us nIl over the country-that juveniles are indeed responsible for a great part of the crime problem.

Ms. GAROIA. Another thing that I notice is that these juveniles carry with them guns and knives. I think there should be a law against this. Because I see many, many 15- and 17-years-olds with these weapons. One boy in a classroom had a gun, 'a .38, and he was only 13 years old. He had a loa.ded gun in a classroom.

Mr. HAMMERSCHMIDT. rrhank you very much, Ms. Garcia. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you very much. The next witness is Mildred Potovsky.

STATEMENT OF MILDRED POTOVSKY, MEMBER, LOS ANGELES OITY COUNOIL ON AGING

Ms. POTOVSKY. Honorable Congressman, Mr. Roybal, Mr. Hammer­schmidt, I am on the Council on Aging ,to the Mayor from the Holly­wood District, and I am on several committees in housing, health and nutrition, and long-term ca.re. I could tell you thousands of stories, but in 5 minutes you cannot say everything.

I myself was held 'up a year ago. This was May 20. It was 7 :30. It happened in our neighborhood, when I was leaving the temple. It was still dayligh.t. I was with another friend. We were jumped from ~he back at the point of 'a knife. I had my purse and the purse was Jerked out of my fingers. My fingers were broken. Of course, you can­not live with it all the time. But you have to see that this shouldn't happen in our streets, 'but it is happening every minute of the day.

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I would like to see better secured communities. Mr. ROYBAL. Ms. Potovsky, this happened on May 20, and, you say,

around '( :30 in the evening. Ms. POTOVSKY. Yes, '( :30. It was still da.ylight. Mr. ROYBAL. You mentioned something about-was it a church th4l;t

you were coming from ~ Ms. POTOVSKY. I was coming outoithetemple. Mr. ROYBAL. Where is that located ~ Ms. POTOVSKY. Hollywood Bouleva,rd. Just a ha1£ a block from

Hollywood Boulevard and Fuller Avenue. Mr. ROYBAL. Were you hurt in any way ~ Ms. POTOVSKY. Yes, I was hurt. My finger was 'broken. When I felt.

the knife here, I let go of the purse. What else can you do. Mr. ROYBAL. In other words, what he did was approach you from

behind with a lmife in his hand and applied that 1000fe to your throat. Ms. POTOVSKY. That is right. And my iriend, if she wouldn't have

screamed, God knows what would have happened. Mr. ROYBAL. But the iriend that was with you did scr(mm. Ms. POTOVSKY. She screamed, "Fire," and people caDle out, ,and ,that

, saved my life. Mr. ROYBAL. The man--Ms. POTOVSKY. Two men, a 25-year-old and a 40-year-old. Mr. ROYBAL. 'Were they ever apprehended by the police~ Did the

police catch them ~ Were they put in jail ~ Ms. POTOVSKY. I don't know. No, not so iar as I know. Mr. ROYBAL. In other words, you don't know if they were caught ~ Ms. POTOVSKY. No. I would know. The detective oame up to the

house and showed me pictures of them. I didn't identify anybody. I couldn't say who it was.

Mr. ROYBAL. In other words, it was very difficult for you to iden-tify the individual since he approached you from behind.

Ms. POTOVSKY. No; no. He came from the front. Mr. ROYBAL. I see. So you did see him. Ms. POTOVSKY. Oh yes. Oh yes. I described him, how he looked and

everything. But I don't think they were caught. . Mr. ROYBAL. That must have lioon a very frightening experience. Ms. POTOVSKY. It was frightening, of course. It is a great fear. It

is not only the fear, it is the insult. I was insulted, hurt that this should .happen in our country, a free country. We walk to church. So why should this happen in a community ~ I live here. I am not a. newcomer here. I have lived fOl' 46 years in Los Angeles, and I have, lived for 25 years in Hollywood. It shouldn't happen. That is an insult. It hurts. And we are afraid. It is fear. I am not a person to be afraid. I go wherever I have to go on the bus, in the streets. But in the evening; after I'[ o'clock, I am afraid to go out. People are afraid to go in to ptay

. on a Friday night. It is iear. I usually call the police. A policeman comes in a car. He goes by. H~ watches on Friday night. There is fear. When I ask people, "Why dldn't you come to the temple," they say, "Are you kidding~ I am .afraid even with the car to go." Because people are being held up in the parking lot. The same evening I was held up, two otlier people were held up in the parking lot ..

Mr. ROYBAL. On that same; day ~

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Ms. POTOVSKY. On t.he same evening. Same time. The money was taken and the wallets were thrown in the gutter. My wallet was also thrown in the gutter.

Mr. ROYBAL. How much money did they take from. you, Ms. Potovsky~

Ms. POTOVSKY. If he would have askeclme for it, I would have given it to him with pleasure. It was not much. It was only $15.

Mr. ROYBAL. But nevertheless, $15 that you really needed. It was your money and there was no reason for him to take it.

Ms. POTOVSKY. That is right. Senior citizens don't have extra money now.

Mr. ROYBAL. That is correct. Ms. POTOVSKY. There is great fear. I hope that the fear problem

will be solved so that we can go out after '( o'clock. vVe are afraid. Mr. ROYBAL. Well, I think you have expressed the fear of senior

citizens very well. Mr. Hallllllerschmidt ~ Ms. POTOVSKY. I interview hundreds of senior citizens. I speak to

them in their organizations and clubs. I am also working on housing right now, for senior citizens.

Mr. llil\IMERSOHl\IIDT. Mrs. Potovsky, we very much appreciate your coming across town to testify this morning'.

Do you live in a neighborhood with mostly elderly people ~ Ms. POTOVSKY. No. Mr. HAMMERSOHl\UDT. It is a mixed neighborhood ~ Ms. POTOVSKY. -younger people, even if they are 40 years old or 30

years old, are afraId to go out. Mr. HAl\Il\IERSOHl\UDT. So fear pervades the entire neighborhood

no matter what a resident's age is. Well, thank you very much. Ms. POTOVSKY. Thank you. Mr. HOYBAr,. Thank ;you, Ms. Potovsky. The next witness is Mrs. Rostami. Is she present ~

STATEMENT OF ANTONIA ROSTAMI, DIREOTOR, OUTREACH AND ESCORT PROGRAM, OITY OF LOS ANGELES, AND TEACHER OF SO­CIAL PSYCHOLOGY, LOS ANGELES CITY SCHOOLS

Ms. ROSTAl\II. Good morning, Congressman Roybal and Congress­man Hammerschmidt. My name is Antonia Rostami and I am director of Outreach and Escort, which is a program funded by the area office on aging and administered through Los Angeles city schools. "-

The nature of my work, Outreach specifically, deals with canvassing the neighborhood door to door in search of elderly, isolated seniors in the neighborhoods of El Sereno, Boyle Heights, and Lincoln Heights.

Because of the nature of our work, we have encountered very imme­dhtte problems that perhaps haven't made the statistics yet. For in­stance, our work has beel?- terribly hampered by the fact that, because of the great fear of bemg robbed, people have erected very large fences, sometimes with barned wire, have put bars on the windows, and also have acquired very ferocious looking dogs. This tells us something

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quite interesting. People are now spending money On dogs the size of German sheJ?herds, and Doberman pinschers. Since money to feed the dog comes dlrectly' ont of their meager allowance for food, this should give you some indication of the great fear bf crime.

Oftentimes we are not allowed to even get inside the yard because of the dog. If we stay there long enough and the dog barks long enough, the lady or the gentleman will shout to us through the door, "'What do you want?" et cetera. Oftentimes we will toss our card over the fence. Interestingly enough, this is often .followed by a phone call to the office to verify the employment of the person who tossed the card, even though that person didn't even get to talk to them. 'rhen they are invited to come back and the elderly person says, "Yes I will talk to yon now that I know that you really belong to an organization and you are not just out to case the neighborhood."

';I'hey often will tell us th~t it seems like they hl:\Ne neighborhood spIes, not to look out :£01' theIr property but to find out when they are leaving the neighborhood. For instance, many of these people leave their homes to attend nutrition programs where they receive a hmch 01' a dinner. Inevitably it seems that this is the time when their homes are broken into.

Another interesting aspect that I really wish to emphasize, par­ticularly because of the lack of people that are here to testify is that the elderly fail to report crime. In 0111' particular neighborhoods we have minorities-Japanese American and Chinese. Contrary to sta­tistics, we still have quite a few people of Jewish ancestry. It is pre­dominantly Spanish American. We have asked them, ""When you are robbed, do you report this to the police~" The answer is invariably no.

"Why don't you report it to the police~" Two reasons. One, "I am afraid that if I report it to the police, some­

how or other the police are going to notify Immigration." We just can't make them understand that the police and Immigra··

t10n do not work side by side. If they are here legally, of course, we will ask them, "Are you here legally~"

"Yes, of course I am." "Then why are you afraid of Immigration ~" "Well, my neighbor down the block has lived here for 25 years or

20 years, and in corning to visit me they might find her," 01' a relative, etcetera.

So there is a great fear still for a different reason of the police. Another reason is that the police will come in a police car and they

are afraid that they will receive retaliation by gang members when they see that they have reported their crime, which is the reason why many did not show up today. I think your assistant, Congressman Roybal, can tell you that last Thursday we had a type of a l'ally where we inVIted neighborhood participants, members of a lot of, senior citizens clubs to tell them about the hearing and to invite them to come. They came merely because it was held in a senior center. They ex~ llressed to us that they were afraid that the news media might cover the hearings, and that gang members and other unsavory characters in the neighborhood will spot them and their homes would be robbed or they would be mugged in the street. This sounds ridiculous, but it is their pl\imary concern, and that is the reason why they are not here. We ha:vk qUlte a large turnout, and yet they are not all here.

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Another problem we have encountered-another aspect, excuse me, of my work is Escort. In this escort program we provide transporta­tion for the poor elderly for doctors appointments, shopping, et cetera. This is another kind of comJ?laint that I have received. The program was funded for somewhere In the neighborhood of $14 to $16 thou­sand, to provide service for those three areas. If you have any idea of the size of the area-that is one indication of llOW underfunded we arc.

The other problem is that the people who provide the escort service must provide part of their insurance and the full use of their car with­out compensation. Obviously we have a very difIkmlt time obtaining people to provide the service for which we were funded.

Another problem, of course, is that even our drivers are afraid of getting mugged while they are ringing doorbells to escort these people to doctors appointments.

Another aspect of my position in the comrmmity is also as gerontol­ogy teacher for Garfield Communi tv Adult School. I teach social psychology, and in my classes in socitil psychology we have discussed, for instance, psychological problems in aging-what sort of transi­tion periods do you encounter ~ How do you change ~ One of the chief complaints in the class is how their life is tremendously affected by any type ~f a crime, whether it is fraud, mugging on the stre~t, et cetera. I WIsh I could have brought my students to tell you themselves how much it has affected their lIves. Not only will they not leave their homes but they will ask their children to take them to pick up some­thing at the store or to pick up some medicine. They won't even ven­tUl'e ahlock away from their homes. This, of course, puts a great burden on their children and consequently family relations are strained.

Many of the other points that I wanted to talk about have been touched by Mr. Azarnoff. But this is just to give you an idea of some of the problems that are very current, day-to-day problems in our community. 'V'e have learned about them from ringing door'bells and interviewing people.

Thank you. Mr. R01.'BAL. Ms. Rostami, one of the new factors that has been pre­

sented is the fact that senior citizens are fearful of retaliation by community gangs. How widespread is that ~ Has there been any in­stance that you know where a community gang has retaliated against a particular person because the police ciune to the house ~

Ms. ROSTAlIII. Yes, I do know of several instances. It is really diffi­cult to ascertain because YOl.l are not going to interview the gang members and say, "Did you do it~" But I do know people that have had graffiti painted 011 t'heir house. They don't usually do this when they rob a house, but in instances where this happens, that is a pretty good indication that gangs have committed the robbery.

Another thing is interesting. For instance, at Fairmont Terrace, where I teach a psychology class, for the past 3 weeks another teacher, Irma N'lmez, has tried to organize the community and work with the sheriff's department in the same area in crime prevention. Mr. J"ack­son, who manages the apartment house complex, refused to give per­mission to hold a meeting because he also feared retaliation by the gang. So now we have the p~'oblem of not being !Lble to find a meeting plnce to talk about how to prevent crime or to get the sheriff's or LAPD department to tell us how to avoid crime unless the meet.ing

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is held in a park. They usually will allow us the use of the l?ark at night. I wouldn't go out at night much less a senior citizen gomg out at night. Where else can we meet? "Ve have met illegally in class, not letting them lmow that this was the purpose.

Mr. ROYBAL. Now, the locale that you mentioned was denied you because of :f~ar. Is that a privately owned building~

Ms. RosTAMI. Yes. It is the Stovall Foundation, and it is privately owned. I am not exactly sul'e of the specifics.

Mr. ROYBAL. vVell, isn't the Stovall Foundation a senior citizen home~

Ms. ROSTA1III. Yes. Exactly. Mr. ROYBAL. And they were still reluctant to make that available

to you~ Ms. R,osTA:m. Exactly. Not reluctant; they just said flatly no. We

had to cancel the meeting. ' Mr. R01:13AL. And that was because of :£ear of retaliation ~ Ms. ROSTA1IIT. Exactly. That was the reason that was given. I could

see his fear because the're are quite a few gangs in that area and there have been quite a lot of crimes perpetrated on seniors that live there.

Mr. ROYBAL. vVell, that is even more incredible because this is It senior citizen home. It is a facility that is made available to senior citizens. They have a complete senior citizen program.

Ms. ROSTA1IH. Exactly. Mr. ROYBAL. And still they refuse to let you have any space because

of fear of retaliation. Ms. ROSTAl\!t. Exactly. "\iV ell, in this CitSe the meetinp," was going to

be covered by channel 7. I think it was. We knew it ,vas going to be covered. So it definitely was going to be in the news. And the director feared that this would bring on an unleash of violence.

Mr. ROYBAL. "\iVell, do you think that the media sometimes tminten­tionally adds to this problem ~

Ms. ROSTAl\II. That is a difficult question to answer 'because it has two aspects. One, I think the media has helped us tremendously. For instance, in hearings of this nature and you have such poor attend­ance that you think that there really isn't that much of a problem because nobody is here to complain. :f.loweV'er, the media does specific 10- or 15-minute spots and they interview people. They tell you how they :£eel. Then the public gets the idea that "Well, you lmow, the hearings don't really say anything because people really are fearful." So in that aspect they help us. 1-'

The other uSl?ect, of course, is like everything else. The more atten­tion that is paId to gang members, the more publicity they get f01 something that they have done, and the more they will do it.

It is very difficult to ascertain. Mr. ROYBAL. Well, it seems to me that the m01:e media. help, the bet­

tel' the situation would be. Ms. ROSTAl\U. Right. I agree. Mr. ROYBAL. And the more they cover hearings such as this and

meetings such as the ones that you ha\l'6 described, itnd other prob­lems pertaining to senior citizens, the stronger the movement will get. B~cause if we st.art giving in to the gangs in this community, they ate gomg to take over completely.

Ms. ROSTAMI. ExttCtlY.·

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20

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, I think the time has to come when we all will have to stand up and fight against this eventuality.

Ms. ROS'l'A1\II. In this particular session, wliich a friend of mine organized, the people involved were the type that usually will not come out for any type of community effort. In classes and other sessions we have tried to instill the idea that if they allow themselves to live in fear, as you said, it will increase, and what is going to hap­pen when their children get to be their age? This idea has suddenly awakened a lot of seniors. As long as no one is watched, and it seems like they are going to a nutrition class, they will participate. But at hearings of tIns nature, you won't get anyone to come.

Mr. ROYBAL. Mr. HammerschmIdt? Mr. HAMMERSOHMID'l'. Ms. Rostami, I missed hearing the name of

the organization. Ms. ROS'l'AitII. That I represent? I am with Outreach and Escort. Mr. HAM1\IERSOH1\IID'l'. Outreach and Escort. Is that a Government­

funded entity ~ Ms. ROSTAMI. Yes. It is funded by the Area Agency on Aging of

the city of Los Angeles. Dr. Azarnoff is our directOli. Mr. HAM1\IERSOHMIDT. Thank you. Do you have any statistics on unreported crime from victims that

you could furnish to this committee ? Mfl.Ro8'l'A1\U. I couldn't furnish it today. Howeve~, I could do it

now from the top of my head. Mr. HA1IMERSOH1\IIDT. I think that since you provide a door-to-door

service and you have a very personal contact with elderly people it ~ight be meaningful to this sU.bcommittee. If you co~ld supply It for the record, I know the chaIrman and the subcommIttee would appreciate it very much.

Ms. ROSTA1II. Certainly. TNe could even do a couple of months' study for you and ask a specific question in our intake forms so that you would have a very current statistic.

Mr.'HAMMERSOHMIDT. I think it would be very helpful. We receive this sort of information from various sources. You never quite lp}ow how reliable it is. It appears to me that your methodology would give us 80me valuable information in that area.

I wonder if there is any effort being made to teach the very serious nature of elderly crime victimization to young people.' Is 'there some effort being made to make them realize the implications of acts that they might consider not serious at all ?

Ms. ROSTAMI. Gerontology is a relatively new field. We are now beginning programs to help our elderly. But no, that lias not been done.

I myself was going to teach a class to seniors in the west side. In fact, I did teach a class. It wasn't specifically what you have in mind but it was: How does it feel to be old? It was tremendously successful. Of collrse, I did,it as a volunteer, and since I have to earn a living, I couldn't do it every year. But that is very difficult in this day and age of educational cutbacks. No, it isn't being done.

Mr. HA1IMERSOHMID'l'. Well, it just appeal'S to me-speaking as a layman and not as a professional like yourself-that it would 'be a good idea if you had elderly people come in, and yC!u had a group of 12-, lBi-, 14-, and 15-year-old youngsters, and you saId to them, "Now, look ,:what happens to this person when she loses her purse. Look what

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his income is," and! so on. It seems like this is an area which needs to be addressed across this conutl.'Y in the educational system.

Ms. ROSTAMI. I think so. I think that the time will come when at least one can accustom oneself to the. feelings of elderly people.

Mi. HAl\Il\fERSClIl\fIDT. Tlumk you very much. :Mr. ROYBAl". Thank you. The ne},.'t witness. is Jay Glassman from the Los Angeles County

Area Agency on Agmg.

STATEMENT O~ JAY GLASSMAN, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SENIOR CITIZENS' AFFAIRS, AREA AGENOY ON AGING DIVISION

Mr. GLASSlttAN. Congressman Roybal, CongreSsman Hammer­schmidt, good morning, My name is Jay Glassman and I am director of planning with the Los Angeles County Department of Senior Citi­zens' Affairs, Area Agency on Aging DiVIsion.

I would like to welcome you gentlemen to the county of Los Angeles and devote some attention this morning to speaking for some of the 933,000 people 60 and over that live within Los Angeles County. Fifty-three percent of those 933,000 are covered by the Los Angeles County Area Agency on Aging.

My office has compiled some rather lengthy testimony. I think rather than take the time this morning to present all of it, I will submit it for the written record and cover the highlights of the testimony and enable you to hear from the people that are here from the community.

Mr. ROYBAL. Without objection, then, your entire testimon.y will be included in the record following your oral testimony. If you will proceed and summarize, we will appreciate it. Mr. GLASSMAN. Thank you, sir. What I would like to do would be to basically brier you a little

bit more on the Interagency Crime Prevention Task Force which the city of Los Angeles and the county participated in during 1975, and basically give yon some of the reactions of what happened follow­lng that effort, and then get into the area of where we are going from here. . .

. Basically, the task force was covered somewhat by Dr. Azal'lloff in his testimony earlier this morning. But I would: like to say that the prime coordinators of that effort were the city and county area agen­cies on aging, and the State consumer protection progrllm of the at­torney general's office.

What we found. during this effort in which many local agencies participated, prominerit among them being the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was that without exception there was a tremendous degree of interest and willingness on the part of the agencies to participate in the program. I should say that this came with no additional tax revenues, and this was done within the ~xisting budgets of the agencies that participated in the effort.

What we found when we conducted this effort was that victimizQ.­tlon, as you have heard, can be either of a direct or an indirect nature. The fear genera.ted by the indirect exposure to crime through rumor, poUce reports and media coverage can be as debilitating as the crime

22

itself. I think that some of these statistics that have come out regard~ ing the ru,te of victimization on older persons, as contrasted with the remainder of the total population, can he a bit misleading. I know that I have read reports that say that the rates are higher among the elder~ ly, and I have read contradictory repo,rts which sa.y that it is either the Sltme or lower than the general other-age cohorts within the total popUlation.

I think what is significant is the impact of ,the crime on the lifestyle of older persons. I think that if we get n. little obit overly concerned with merely the mte of victimization, we are missing the boat, ·because we are running into a situation where people's lifestyles are being altered. It is an environmental issue. Their life space changes. They are afraid of going out at night, as you heard, and I u'm sure that is true in ~ther parts of the country just as it istl:ue here in Los Al~geles.

We trIed to place equal emphaSIS on combatmg the fear of crIme as well as the incidence of crime. We went through a series of 10 work­shops to get opinions from older people throughout the country. Then we 1:o11owed the 10 conuuunity workshops with some training sessions for service providers who are. actually working in direct conrtoot. We tried to design the tra.ining program based on the concerns that were raised in the workshops.

Well, it was a pretty good program and it culminated in the month of February 1975 being declared Prevention of Crimes Against the Elderly Month by Mayor Bradley and the board of supervisors. 'We were ·also fortunate to have a good deal of media e:ll."Posure. This was, again, a voluntary effort. KCET, the local outlet of N.ational Educa­tional Television, and also the Public Relations Society of America were both instrumental in helping us out with spreading the word on this progra.m.

Mr. HAMl\fEnSOIIl\nDT. Excuse me. "Y.ho participated in those work­shops, Mr. Glassman ~

MI'. GLASSMAN. The 10 workshops were basically for the community. We got word oOn !them out through our various information and ,re,­f~r1,1al operations, title VII nutritlOn programs, senior centers and the hke.

Following the 10 workshoJ?s we had a series of 5 re~onal training sessions for the service proVlders ·to give them materials which ,they could use w.i!th their people to give them techniques for croue preven­tion. Then following ithe training procedures we coordinated a central scheduling of events which we publicized :through our information afid referral network, .and at that point involved' the media so that we could get word on the events to as many people as we possibly could.

At any rrute, the 'program was conductecl throughout the month of February :through MarCh. '1'11en ,an interesting thing happened, and rather an 1Ulfol'tunate thing. 'rhe crime prevention netwOl'k of agen­ci<:s lost i~ impetus at that !point. I t.hink one of the reasons was tha.t thIS was loud of an effort above and beyond w'hat the palt-icipating agencies were involved with, Without additional revenues or O"rant nmds it became· very diffioult to continue .the intensity of the ~ffort beyond this media saturation campaign altd training sessions and com­mtmity workshops that I have mentioned.

We are attempting to turn that around right now. We are engarred very closely with the sheriff's department for the County of Los Ange-

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les in pr:eparing a proposal which will be a comprehe~ive look !lJIi crime preventIOn programs and some other areas. I wDuld lIke to brlefly get into ,the areus that are going to be covered in that proposal and then expand on the efforts tliwt I have already ,outlined that rtook place in 1975 . . This will be a joint effOl'lt, a~d I shDuld say that an ~verall philosDphy

behind the proposal we are III the process of puttmg together now is that there seems to be somewhat of a lack .of Imowledge about what works and wJlat doesn't w.ork in the field .of -crime prevention. We are IDDking very clDsely wtthe evaluatiDn .oomponent .of .this program. Essentially we are building savaml different modules into the program, each of which will be wDrki.ng in a separate area of LDS Angeles County. 'We will be conducting a pretest and post~test evaluation de­sign. In other wDrds, we will be getting surveys out before .the pro~ gram is initiated-if it is flIDded, I should add-and we will take a look at some data following implementation of the project,aJ1d see what happens t-o the actual rate .of -crime and what happens to people's perceptiDns of crime. "IV e willalsD see what happens in ·terms .of their behavior, if there are changes in behaviDr as a result .of dihe program.

Mr. ROYBAL. Have you already presented your proposal f.or tlris purpDse~

Mr. GLASSllIAN. No, sir, I haven't. Mr. ROYBAL. In other words, this is a proposal in preparation. Mr. GLASSllfAN. That is right. Mr. ROYBAL. 'When will it be presented ~ Mr. GLASSMAN. "Ve expect to have it completed within thene~t 6 to 8

weeks. We would like to submit it to the Administration on Aging fDr section 308 model projects funds, and LEU for their consideration.

The sheriff's department will be working on several components. They will be doing a comprehensive data collection phase which will involve the use of older persons themselves to work with the various sheriff substations to find out the victimization rate of older people and to find out. how elderly victimizatiDn problems are handled by the sheriff's department. Direct monitoring of la.w enforcement activi­ties will be olte component.

A second component would be a comprehensive escort program. We have found that the lack of escorts is one majDr reason why older people are not going out at night. As a matt!'l' of bct, given the fact that there is a pretty wide geographic disparity within I.-os Angeles COtIDty, many of them are fearful of going out during the dtty. ,V'e feel tliat a comprehensive escort program, in which the shedff's de­partment wDuld link up with local school systems to try to enn:ble young people to receive academic credit for working with older people, will be a major step in this direction. This will increase the efforts at escort tha.t we have undertaken with title III, Older Ameri­cans Act funds, SD £ar---'but multiplied to a fantastic degree by involv­ing a lot more people in the program.

The third area that the sheriffs are going to be invDlved in would be translating the concept of defensible space developed by Oscar Neuman. This concept involves certain planning strategies in the de~ sign of housing 'and the design of neighborhoods that can be either conducive to safety for older persons within a community, or can actually increase crime by creating more opportunities for persons

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who tend to victimize older people. We intend to take SOme of the .findings of Dr. Neuman and apply them here in Los Angeles, and try to come up with some dp.sign directives for housing programs in the future.

I am going over these rather briefly. Those arf;' the sheriffs' com­ponents. I would HIm to now get into some of \Ithe areas that my department will be involved in in this program.

We will be designing a victim assistance program which will be somewhat similar to the one that Roy Azarnoff outlined for the city. A major concern of ours at this point is that it seems that in the criminal justice system there are too many levers available to the criminal to insure that his rights are represented, and all too few for the victim. We will be working with other agencies within Los Angeles, most prominently the Los Angeles Regional Criminal Justice Planning Organization, to try and bring a:bout some changes in the processing of criminal cases and also to offer some counseling for the victims as well as direct assistance from the criminal justice planning people.

We are also going to be expanding our crime prevention program that we began in February basically using the network that we created through this lYrogram. There were about 300 agencies that participated in this program here in the Los Angeles COlmty area. 'We will be linking them into a network through staff who will prepare a news­letter and current information in crime prevention. They will aJso conduct refresher courses on some of the crime prevention techniques that we were able to touch on during the course of our proiect, but which did not receive the full attention that they need to be given.

The last component that my department will be responsible for if this program is to be funded is the research component that I talked about. ".v e would like to compare the various strategies that we use in this program, and find out which one works best in given geo­graphic areas of the cmmty. We intend to devote close attention to t.he evaluation of strategies of each of the components, and then com­plete a study at the end which would show the results.

I think that gives you a basie outline. I can refer you to the written testimony for further information.

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RODERT G MI!!DINA

c;.ARNELLA J. liArlNES ,AII,IfAtll'OIItCCtOIt

LEON HARPE" A"!'UNTDI"~C10"

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COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES DEPIUlThIENT OF SENIOR anZE..,{s AFFAIRS

ClOt SOUTH KINCiSLEY TJRIVr.

LOS ANGELE!). CALIFORNIA IIOOO!! :l81:1.A221

TESTIl-IONY SUBMITTED SEPl'EMllER 18. 1976 TO TIlE SUB-COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COIIStnlER INTERESTS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF HEPRESENTA~'IVES' SELECT Cct!HITTEE ON AGIliG DESCRIB­ING EFFORTS TO COOnAT ELDERLY CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION

SUlljJITTED BY TIlE LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPAR1'I!ENT OF SENIOR CITIZENS AFFAIRS. AREA AGENCY ON AGING DIVIBIOtl

On behalf of L08 Angeles County, the Department of Senior Citizens Affairs and 935,564 elderly persons who reside in the County, I WoUld like to weleDlne you. I also wish to thank: you for this opportunity to testify on 8 matter as serious and as prevalent as Crime Against the Elderly.

Los Anseles tnt eI-agency Truitt Force on Crime Asainst the Elderly

The evidence is mounting that older Americans constitute a unique class of crime victims and that crimea against th~ elderly Can be dealt with most effectively When considered as II distinct category of criminal activity. To this end, in July, 1975, the Attorney General of the state of California called together con­cerned agencies in the Los Angeles area to discuss the problem of crime and the elderly. From this initial meeting, th,e Los Angeles County Interagency Task Force on Crime Against the Elderly Was formed. Members of the Task Frace in­cluded our agency, the LOB Angeles County Area Agency- on Aging, os we11 as the City Area Agency on Aging, Attorney General's Crime Prevention Unit, toa Angeles City Bureau of Consumer Af.fairs, L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. , L.A. Police Dept., the Community Colleges, the Cali.fornia Dept. of EdUcation, Los Angeles County District Attorney, Los AnEieles City Attorney, LOB Angeles County Public Admin­istration/Public Guardian, California Department of Agirg ~d representatives of local law enforcement agencies. No additional funds Were obtained lot' this project. All participating 88en~ieB contributed starf time and. material. 1'rom within their existing resources. The need 'Was apparent. The partiCipants acknowledged the need for crime preve!1tion infort;lotion and agreed to meet it.

The Interagency Task Force acknOWledged that victimization can be of either a direct or an indirect nature. Actual victimization rates of older people can btl misleadinG if the impact of these crimea are taken into consideration. The fear generated. by indirect exposure to crime (through rumor, police reports, and media coverage) can be as debilitating as the c .... iminal activity Heelt'. For this reRBon, the Interagency Task Force placed equal. emphasis on co/Uootting fear of crime in it.9 uCrime Prevention for the ElderlyH program.

Arter initially seeking input from elderly reaidento themoelves at 10 community workshops, held at ten locations in various par~s of the county, the Interagenc~~ Task FC:1"ce designed an oight ... hour intensive seminar program to train key per­Bonnel In <trime prevention techniques. .F~om the initial ten community workshops, we learned that types at crime causing concern for the elderly residento Varied acrOBa Los Angeles County. While the elderly residents of one area voiced con­cern about street crime and crimea ot violence t participants i'rol:l otlmr areas were more fearful ot property crimes lJUch as burglary" An effective crime pre­vention progrwn must address these regional variations. With this in mind, statf from elderly nutrition projects, information and reterral services, adult education programs ando senior centers attended these intensive seminars OVer a tw~month period. Tbe individt:als who were trained became membere of the- Crime Prevention Network, each member devoloping expertico in planning a crime preven­tion program for their respective elderly client group. Individual project topics inoluded burglary prevention, Victim assistance, crime prevention educa­tion, neighborhood involvement nnd strengthening as well 8ft a program that dbblt with crimos of violence. ~heBe initia1 efforts were augmented in the llext phase of the project in which the Lo. Angeles County Board of Supervi.or. and the Heyor of the CUy of Lo. Jlnge1e. jointly proclaimed Fobruar:r. 1916 a. "Prov.ntion of Crim08 Againot the Elderly" Month. An intensive media effort was u.ndertnken to inform older persona of the projeot;.. KCEll tho ~ocal affiliate of National EducationD.l Television, pl'ovided inw.luable 8\1PPDri:- to the Interagency Task Force.

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A Comnrehenaiv& ~rima Prevention Approach

Response to the network concapt by Crime Network TaBk Force members we extremely supportive. Many expressed interest in expanding the initial efforts to further combat crime and tho associated anxiety. But lacking the necessary- reBc.urcea lllld staff time, the Crime Prevontion Network lost its momentum. In order to revita­lize, maintain and enlarge uptln the Network concept, the LoB Angeles County Area Agency on Aging and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Crime Prevention Unit have planned 0. comprehensive dlld coordinated crime prevention model program, with the intent of requesting Federo.1 aBSlstance. A prinwry component ot thia model project is the research component, that is, an evaluation prOCOBE:: that will utilize statistics to provide data on the relative effectiveness of different programs. To date, we really do not know whicn crime prevention efforts are most effective.

The Sheriff' B Departmont is developing program modules in areas such as crime data collection by age group (the Sheriff' B Department currently does not record victimizatio:'l ratee by sge) t escort progI'Bms, and enlarging defensible space .. OUr department is developing a crime prevention education component and a victim assistance program to complement the efforts of the Sheriff's Dep::·rtment.

The comJ?rehensive crime prevention program is necessary in order to extond the educational benefits of the Crime Prevention Netwo:-k throughout the 78 cititlB in Los Angelos County. Fiv9 trained staff coordinators ."ill de·{elop educational programs and materials for in-home and street security. Because each of the coordinators will be assigned to just one of the five diverse supervisorial dis­tricts of the County, each vill be able to addross the unique needs of communi­ties by considoring their social, economic 8lld cultural dii'ferences. The staft via sorve &.8 a catalyst to encourage ongoing community crillle prevention pro­jects such as aate home inspections conducted by seniors tor seniors, burglary prevention, avoidance ot street c~imesf mass media educational programs, neigh­borhood 1t!volvement, bunco/fraud. alerts, victim assistance, eacort programs, consumiJr ~ducationt witness progt'Bl11 as "'ell ss publishing a bi-monthly news­letter and annual crime prevention conference. The production and distribution ot educational materials will be enhanced by augmenting our resource library ot crime prevention programs, films, pamphlets, tapes, and 1isto ot reaource persone within the County. In this matmer, the grant funds will be used as "seed money'l to encourage further committment of tho energies ot' local agencies to reducing the incidence at crime among the aged and the accompanyins .fear of crime which alters the lifestyle of older persons by reducing their personal space.

In addition to these preventive efforts, elderly victims of crime will be addressed by another proposal. The Victim AsHistance Program proposes to .serve elderly vic­tims at crime in a two-told manner: (1) reduce the iOp8ct of crime cOmJIitted against the elderly victim; (2) reduce the odds that the elderly victim will be victimized again. Most authorities agree th3.t the elderly are more vulnerable tl"hon victimized and this program aims to nlleviate the trauma and loso o( these victims.

Within the Advocate eomponent of this program volunteers \rd.ll be trained to pro­vide direct, ameliorative services, such as crisis inte:oventiODt transportation, Dnd emergency food and clothing. If necessary, the victim ..nll be assisted in navigat.ing the criminal justice Bystarn and in applying for StatEt indemnification (a lawyer can prosfJntly collect up to 8500 (or helping a client complete these forms). Older voluntt;'lers and persons who ho.ve previously been victims will "be rocruited ss empathetic advocates in this program. To assure that the person is not victimized repeatedly, 8S is often the caso. appropris.te crime prevention tect~"liques will be imparted to the victim.

The Community OUtreach component \rd.ll be involved in sensitizing law enforcement and criminal justice system personnel to the plight of elderly victims. A crime prevention resourCe library will be created and manuals ."Ul be produced for training agency persons who come in contact with elderly victims. Pamphlets on crime techniques and resources in tho community for crime Victims 'frIlll al.so be printud. This component will have D. preventative effect t and these training materials and program models will be disseminated nation."ide.. Coordination ."i11 be established and maintained with other crime pevention eftorts in the County such as the Los Angeles city Area Agency on Aging' n crime prevention program.

Evaluation "'ill be a strong component of this program. Indicators to measure program euccess shall include reduction in the crime rate, reduction in repeated victimization ot clientst and whother past clients are ."Uling to volunteer to nsedst other victims.

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If funded, this program will be aubcontr£lcted to an agency cr orgo.nization in a oelocted tnrget: area in Loa /mgelcB County. The model projoct will be monitored and evaluated by the Los Angeles COUllty Area Agency on Agine. The combined coot for these programs i8 approximated at S600,QOO per year. Application will be made to LEAA and Administration on Aging's Model l't'ojects.

The national implications _of these crime prevention model projects include the unique features of comprehensive coordination, of orro-rta in this field to ascer­tain which strategiea are eftective and which are not, Research into the impact a.t crime, cOllpled with concrete ameliorative service .. will address -crime against the elderly in a holistiC fashion and will Berve tiS a national model for othor communitiea t:onccrned with crime against theil" aged population.

RecoatnendatioDB

After extensive research into the prevention of crimes againat the elderly, it becallle clear that great confusion cxi.ets 88 to which types of crime the elderly are tiost VUlnerable and whether tne elderly are vict:imized at a disproportionately higher rate when compared with other age' groups.

On one hand, the FBI Ori",e lleport of 1970 indicate. that one-tifth of. the murder victims :In 1970 lIer_ in tile 50 and ovsr age category (Dominick, 1973). 1II11le a study l"ecentl!1 cmr.pleted in Houston indicates that ..,hen all crime eatego~iee are considered the elderly are not overly - victin1ized when compared w,ith per­nona und'Cr 65 yeBrS of' age. The llged are vic~ims or t'obber:/, swindling, })\1rao snatching more frequently than the general population (Forst_n and Kitet.ens, 1973, ,2). In contract to this report, Brostart, et al. (1970), reported in a 19'/0 Washington D.C. study that older persona were disproportionately vi9tiutized. 'l!he elderly eOlllpri.ed 2% ot the Capitol's popUlation but "ere victima 3~ or the time. In ''The Five Largest Cities Study" (LE.A.A., 1974, 11-1?), in which Lo. Angeles is included, the elderly (50 year .. and older) had the highest victim­ization rate for non-violent crimes such 8.8 larceny and burglary t but lower rates 'lor the. c~imea oC .robbery,. rape and.. assaul.t ..

Although the Vru:iOUB authorities do not concur as to the actual rates tuld typeS" or crime c_itted against the elderly, tbey seem to agree that tho elderly are moat vulnerable when victimized. Some of the chlU"acteristic8 that render them VUlnerable are: low ;income; lack or transportation; diminished physical and sometimes mental capacity; 10SB ot status and decreDBed persoIUlel efricacy assoc­iated in the Amodcan culture with being old. They are victimized by most of the systems in Booiety\ so why not by the criminal?

What CM be done toward Bolving this seemingly overwhelming problem? Recommend­ations from the Department of Senior Citizens Af'faira include the folloWing: collect d.ata and etatistics on tha actual (lccurences ot victimization, educate tho elderly to the re81.ity of crime in their neighborhood, employ a strong oval ... uation cO(!lpon~nt in any crime prevention effort implemented; involve the elderly victim more positively in the criminal justice system, including tho juvenile justice area; reform the criminal justice system to rehabilitate criminnls in­stead or ouly compounding the problom. 1n tho following paragraphs most of these suggestions will be :turther developed.

Elderly victim statistics for Los Angeles County "oro not included in this test~ imODY' because they do not exist. Our department, as men'Honed earlier, works very '::losely with tho L.A. County SheriU's OUice but the Sheriff was WlSble to provide us with age of victim dota. Two ysars ago the SherUf cUscontinuod acquiring victim age due to complaint. by victims that this information was t1!1-n~cessary- and extraneous. However, tlU.s gap has ~caused har~ship in collectirig hard otatiotical data on older victims - whero ther are and Who thoy artl. lie also discoverod that the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), published by the FBr, fur­nishes crime rate statiatico for aU categories, in all aretJ,s of the cou."'ltry. But the UCR conh.ins no age breakdown of victims. Wo suggopt every law enforce­ment- agency keep such :t"ecords tor future crime prevention pll1lUdng.

Victim. of crimos ~h"uld b. involved more ip. our crillinal jU!lUce syotom. Victims have fe" right. in contrsat the criminal. Hethods of elevating the importance or the victims in the criminal justice s),st ... inclUde' ostablishing witne •• roCOl, ouch as the one funded by LEAA in the Lo. Angoles County Criminal Courts lluilding. !l'he witness can wait in this room to bo called by tha coUrt I and a child care center ia available; a victim impact roport could be taken by

28

police for tho judge's consideration in sontencing; the existing indemnirication progrMl8 should be expanded to include victims of other than violent crimos; restitution programs such as tho Offender ReHabUitation Program funded by tho State of Georgia should be institued. Tho persons involved in this restitution program are usually first time offenders c:l crime ago.insf; property and usually servo three to six month sentences. The participantB live in tho restitutions centers and work in the community. They pay their salaries to tho business manager who takes out room and board as "'ell 8S compensation to the victim of tho crimoa. This system haa several advantages Which includes alleviation of institutionalization, reduced coat to the taxpayer, and reintbursoClent to tho victim of the crime.

As n preventive measure the olderly community should be involved in the juvenile justice system. According to the National Crime Survey ot 1970, (US Census), young male, high school dropouts who are unemployed are most likely to victimize the elderly. Involving the elderly in 'Projects such 8S the youth diversion pro­jects could be a fantastic intergenerational. experience which will impress on the partiCipating youthB the adverse atfecto of' crime on older persons.

Finally, no dngle crime program wID be successful throughout the entiro County. As we discovered in hearings conduoted last year, Los Angeles County is as diverse in crime problema as it is in all other aspects. Tho program to prevent crime must be tailored to the wants and neads or the individual community. We bolievo there is no one right ans'Jer, but ~/e hope some of the plana we have described this moriling will, if implemented, offer a vat'iety of solutions to the overall problem. Your committee' B support and interest can be invaluable in these efforts to mount a comprehensive assault on crimes against tho elderly.

Tostimony prepared by Roxanne Killian, Steve Epstein and J'.J. Glassman

References

Brostarf, Phyllis Hensch, Robert B. Brow, and Robert N. Butler. liThe Public Intereatf Report No.6 'Beating Up on the Elderly: Police Social Work, Crime." Asing and Human Development, 1970, 3, 319 - 322.

Domonick, Joseph R. uCrime and Law Enforcement on Prime Time·Television." Public Opinion Quarterly. 1973. 37. 241 - SO. ---

Foraton, Raymon, and JameB Kitchona. Criminal Victimization C£the Aged: The Houaton Hodel Neishborhood Area. 1974, Denton, Texas: Center for Community Services, North TexaD State Unive~8ity.

L.E.A.A. (U.S. Dopartmertof Juatice, Law Enforcement Assietan,ce Administration). Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistic.: 1973, 1973. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Offico.

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29

I would like to close my remarks with a concern that I have had with section 308 model projects funds that the Administration on Aging has administered for several years. These funds, as you lmow, are to be used for innovative approaches to problems in the field of aging. This is one 'of the prime sources that we are looking toward for the particular project that I have outlined this morning. A major concern that I have felt with the section 308 model projects money is that the dissemination component has been atrocious. These projects have been initiated throughout the country by the Administl'ation on

. Aging, and as a practitioner working in the field of aging, I have re­ceived vel'y few benefits from those studies. Now, I and others within my agency do have some contacts with people workmg in similar agen­cies throughout the country. That has been a fairly effective route to pursue. But I am aware that there is a national clearinghouse which is supposed to be undertaking this function of di-ssemination of infor­mation, and I think that it would be of great benefit to people work­ing in the field of aging were the clearinghouse to be an effective instrument for this dissemination. If that is not an appropriate vehicle for the dissemination then I think there are others that could be ex­plored, either through a national subcontract or through the National Council on Aging, or some of the other organizations that are very active in the field.

But I would like to say that our intent in designing this proposal is not only to find out what works best in Los Angeles but to be able to offer the experience of what we do here to some of the other 400-plus area agencies on aging that ha.ve been set up throughout the rest of the Nation, as well as to other organizations that are active in the field.

Ml'. ROYDAL. How much money do you estima.te will be needed to actually conduct the program in the manner which you have described ~

Mr. GLASSMAN. We are estima.tin~ a:t this time that it would be ap­proximately $600,000. That would lUclude the dissemination compo­nent to the remainder. .

Mr. ROYDAL. It would include that. Mr. GLASSMAN. Yes. Mr. ROYDAL. So then the complete program wonld be in the neigh-

borhood of $600,000. Mr. GLASSMAN. Yes, sir. Mr. ROYDAL. How long wouJd it take to complete your proj!3ct ~ Mr. GLASSMAN. Weare envisioning a3-year progrl1m. Mr. ROYDAL. In other words, it would be $600,000. over a period of

3 years. . Mr. GLAss:r.rAN. That is right. Mr. ROYDAL. Thank you. Now tllere is one other aspect I would like to have clarified, and that

concerns the experience that you ha.ve had with the 10 workshops you have conducted. Were they well attended ~

Mr. GLASSMAN. It varied. In several of the sessions w(~ had an over­flow crowd. We had more people than we could accommodate in the facilities that were donated., Severa.l of the others were more sparsely attended. We basically did similar sorts of publicity and ,outreach for all 10. . '

I think that indicates some of the diversity within the Los Angeles area and it underscores why one single approach won't necessarily

60-417 0 - 77 - 3

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work to solve any problem, including crime prevention. That is one reason why we hn.ve designed this program to include several strategies.

Mr. ROYBAL. You probably heard testimony this morning to the effect that the reason that people are not here is because they were afraid to come .. It is my understanding that the staff contacted every senior citizen club and organization and notified them of the hearings taking place. I felt a tone of disappointment on the part of the young lady who testified when she said that the reason that this place is not full is because senior citizens are afraid. Do you agree with that state­ment in general ~

Mr. GLASS~IAN. I think that is certainly one explanation. I think a second explanation is the fact that we are in the midst of a transit strike here in the Los An&eles ~rea. and ther:e is no bus servi?e ava:ila~le to people at the present tune. I thmk that IS probably a falrly slgmfi­cant factor in the turnout this morning.

Mr. ROYBAL. Yes. I was hoping to bring out the fact that 'there is a bus strike in Los Angeles. I would also like to reemphasize the fact that transportation for senior citizens is almost nonexistent. The Federal Government as a whole has done a poor job in making avail­able 'transportation for senior citizens, including the dial-a-ride pro­grams and the various other programs that fJ,re not sufficient, par­ticularly in this area where so many senior citizens reside. You told the subcommittee that there were 733,000 senior citizens in the county.

Mr. GLASS:M,AN. It is 933,000. Mr. ROYBAL. Excuse me, 933,000 senior citizens in the county. Well,

ina hearing such as this one would expect, let us say, 500. The various factors that have been described are no dou:bt responsible for the lack of attendance here today. As you have indicated, fear is one of these factors.

Thallir you. Mr. Hammerschmidt? . Mr. HAMMERSOHMIDT. Mr. Glassman, in this program that you have

in mind, you plan to change perceptions and allay fears more than really attacking crime itself. Is that correct ~

Mr. GLASSMAN. ·Well, I should say that our component d~finitely is slanted toward ,the reduction of fea.r. The sheriff's department com­p~nent in ·this joint project would more directly address the rate of cnme.

Mr. HAMl\rERsoHlI:um'. How many Federal programs and agencies do you receive money from? Only the Office on Aging?

Mr. GLASSlIIAN. Well, no. ·VVe have several sources. We are funded in pa.rt by the LA County General Fund. The Older Americans Act provides m:, through title III, with our Area Agency on Aging Divi­sion. vVe also operate with some Community Development Act funds, and we also have received some State moneys from the California De­partment of Aging.

Mr. HAM~RSCHlIrIDT. Do you use the RSVP program or any of the ACTION progrn,ms? Are they coordinated with your agency? . Mr. ~L'il.sSl\rAN. Vel71 closely. As a matter of fact, we have a rather ~nnovatlVe legal servi{!e~ program in which we developed 'U. joint work­mg agreement with ACTION which resulted in the training of para­legals to work with legal service providers within Los Angeles County.

¥r. HAMl\IERSOHl\IIDT. I £a.ther that in the workshops you flavo some paId sbaff people. Are the !",SVP people plugged into that operation?

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Mr. GLASs:arAN. The wOl'kshops were basically part of the one-shot crime prevention campaign which culminated in February being crime prevention month for seniors. ,Ve did work with all senior organiza­tions to basically involve as mnny local people as we possibly could.

Ourrently the workshops have not been continued. But we do wodr with RSVP and .AOrrION 011 other projects as wall as crime prevention.

Mr. HAl\Il\IERSCH1\UDT. There are many questions I could ask you be­cause I know you are very lmowledgeable in this field. I remember meeting you 'before over at Patriotic Hall when I was the guest of Oongressman Roybal. But we also have many other witnesses. So I will forego any further questions. Thank you very much.

Mr. GLAss:arAN. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Mr. R01 .. 'BAL. Thank you very much. The nert witness is Richard Sundeen who is assistant professor of

the. school of planning and urban stuaies at the University of SO'f;lth­em Oalifornia.

Mr. SUNDEEN. Good morning. I am with the school of public admin­istration now at the University of Southam Califomia.

STATEMENT OF RICHARD SUNDEEN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, SCHOO"L OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH­ERN OALIFORNIA

lIfr. SUNDEEN';! What I would like to do this moming is summarize for a few minutes the results of a study that was done by myself and my colleague, James Matthew, at .Loyola University. It was in the social context nlld the consequences of fear of criminal victimization among the elderly. In a sense, this documents many of the statements that have been made more poignantly n,nd eloquently by actual victims or older citizens -of Los Angeles.

Our research interest was in the indirect victimization rather than the actual victimization of elderly. That is, we were concerned about the factors andthe circumstances tha.t are related to the anxiety about being a victim of a crime in determining some of the attitudinal 01' the behaviora.l consequences related to that concern. Toward that end, we interviewed older persons, 130 of them, in southern California, all of them 52 years and older. The average age was about '72. Fifty of them lived in a suburban retirement community and the ether 84 lived in three urban areas, all within 10 miles of downtown: or of the central city. Those persons were people who came to senior citizens clubs 01' centers similar to this one.

By compari11.g these two groups-the sUl'burbun and the urban groups-we hope to highlight the problems of indirect victimization faced by the- low-income, older UrbaIl dwe1ler. This is not to indict those who have greater wealth, but rather to point out the social needs and costs of those who are not as affluent.

Om' findin&! indicate that the older urban person who possesses fewer economIC and social resources that generally contribute to one}s physical anrt psychic security has a pervasive fem: of crime, particu­larly magnified at night. I think we have heard that seve~al times today also. ';:;0.

32

Further, they appear to be more likely to take various 'low-cost measures to protect themselves and to fortify their homes. I believe that was pointed out earlier.

Understandably, they are more critical of the police and correctional systems, and more punitive toward offenders than are their counter­parts in the retirement community.

Let me go into a little more detail about the resources, the, fear of cdme, safety precautions, and the attitudes toward the justice system of these two groups. ,

First, what were the differences between the two groups in terms of resources~ The differences are striking. In economic terms, the ma­jority of the central city residents had an annual income of $4,000 or less while nearly two~thircls of the retirement community had in­comes in excess of $10,000.

Further, the urban group had greater limitations on their physical .... mobility as more were dependent upon public transportation or walk-ing than the suburban group. Presumably that group is now more de-pendent only on walking during the strike. Not surprisingly, the urban group reported that while they go to fewer places per clay, they are out of their houses for a greater average number of hours, presum-ably because of the time required for transportation. Again, the urban elderly are more vulnerable to street crime, since they are out on the streets more.

Also, in leaving their homes, two-thirds of the urban group limited travel to daylight hours only, as compared to one-fifth of the suburban group.

The social environment is the second resource that affects one's life­style and feeling of security,and may be drawn upon in the event of danger, emergency, or crisis. Like economic resources, the urban group had fewer of these personal and social supports than the subur­ban group. They were more likely to be living alone, less likely to expect that neighbors would call the police if they saw the individual bemg victimized, and less likely to feel a part of the community in which they reside. They were also less likely to feel that the community they lived in was a good community. Thus, in terms of the social con­text of their lives, we found a group of elderly persons who have comparatively few economic or social resources, all of which contribute to a sense of personal vulnerability and criminal victimization. as well as to other mOl.',£'} general crises. .

Second, what is the difference in the fear of criminal victimization among these two gi'oups-the suburban and the urban older persons? The sense of vulnera bility was also indicated by the respondents' perceived security of their immediate neighborhoods and the levels of fear expressed over certain kinds of crime. '.rhe urban residents felt less secure from criminal victimization in their immediate neighbor­hoods during the day and the evening than the suburban group. Their perception or safety at night was extremely low and probably con­tributes to their tendency to restrict travel to daytime only. In addi­tion, the urban group showed a much higher fear of being robbed on the street, having their homes burglarized, having their cars stolen, and having consumer fraud perpetrated against them. Further: when we looked at the levels of fear of the four crimes within the urban group, the fear of being robbed on the street ranked the highest, and

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the fear of burglary of their home ranked closely behind. That is, cdmes agaillst the person and the property crimes were the ones that were feared most. ,

Interestin~ly, when asked if other situations prompted a fear of criminal victImization, both groups, that is, the suburban and the urban groups, had similarly high scores on the scale that we were using

" which suggests that areas away from one's familiar turf or outside the , protection of the security walls, in the case of the retirement com~ munity, are seen as poteiltially dangerous. So it may be that many older people, regardless of their economic resources, have a basic sense of vulnerability and insecurity with regard to criminal victimization.

Third, given the two groups' respective resources and the fear of criminal victimization, how do these groups cope with the environ­ment that they perceive as eitller being safe or dangerous ~ Our investi­gation addressed this by asking what safety and security precautions had been taken out of concern for security and protection from crime. The individuals within the urban group averaged oyer twice as many precautions as those in the retirement community where a security system is one of the amenities purchased by the residents. Further, the urban group responded to potential victimization by having a larger proportion obtain whistles; install special locks in their homes ; lock dOOl:s'during the day even while they were at home; participate in the police identification programs which, incidentally, very few of them were even aware of; obtain weapons and especiallv stay home at night. I might add that many of these urban elderly have costs wllich outWeIgh the benefits. That iS j to fortify yOUl' home and to lock yourself in can be quite expensive.

In contrast, the suburban community 111,embers were 11101'13 likely to buy property theft insurance, which appears to be a function of their wealth and serves as a standby measure only if the community security system fails.

Fourth; how does each group perceive the formal criminal justicl3 agencies!\tnd their practices~ 'Ve found that the urban group tended to rate the effectiveness otthe police and the correctional system­that is the prison an(l )?re,~!;)le system-lower than did the suburban group, while the latter group was slightly more critical of the COUl'ts. However, when looking at how each sample ranked 1'he respective agencies, both groups rated the police higner than any of the othel' agencies. I!'urther, the urban group was more punitiye in their at­titudes concerninO" the role of prisons. They I{'.lt prisons should be more punitive andthey advocated more stringent sentences for offend­ers of SIX different kinds of crimes against the person and property.

The summary picture that emerges is tllat the l1rban elderly which has fewer economic resources, fewer connections with individual 01' community support systems, perceptions of leSiS community safety from criminal victimization during the day and evenillg~ and lower estimates of the likelihood of being able to depend upon the informal and the formal networks of control and protection also has the greatMt fear of being criminally victimized. In addition, those older persons who live in less protected environments, and especiallY older l11)art ... ment areas, with fewer economic resources, are m.ore 'likely to take their own low~cost, piecemeal security measures to' fortify their dwellings.

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As for policy implications, the findings seem to indicate the advis­ability of plalming for subgroups of older persons according to their living arrangements and their resources. Also I think the findings pose a series of questions fOCll13ing on how low-income elderly, especially in the central cities, may be provided security and protection from crim­inal victimization. How. f/an we provide them safe. l~iches, secure places? For example, wInI,> age homogeneous commumtIes for the el­derly appear to be the most secure and free from fear, what are the implicatlOns for the socip.} roles and the lifestyles of older persons? In other word.s, do we desire further age segregation in our society? Do we desire a segregation of youth from older people in our urban centers? Do the elderly desire this @ Besides the need for more theo­retical and empirical investigations into this area, research and dis­cussions should be underway to address these and. other policy issues.

Mr. ROYBAL, I would like to thank you for very excellent testi­mony. There arc many questions that I, of course, would like to ask. But due to the lateness of the hour and since we would like to recess $hortly to start a hearing in the southern part of the district, I will confine my questioning just to one point of clarification.

You pointed out tliat the urban and suburban problf'ms were care­fullY' studied. and youconduded that the urban community is under­standably more critical of the police and correctional systems. Will you clarlfy that statement, particularly the word ~'undei'standably" ~

Mr. SUNDEEN. "Understandably" in the sense of if one has a fear of criminal victimization and if one assumes that there i.s a governmental body that is there for their protection, but they at18cCllot being pro­tected, they feel shortchanged.

Mr. R6YBAL. Is that. fear then due to the fact that police protection is much better in the suburban than in the urban areas?

Mr. SUNDEEN. I think that in the case that we did the study on, the answer is "yes." The suburban retirement community has its own 6-foot walls that surround the conununity, as well as its own private security system.

Mr. ROYBAL. It is also true then that the urban community.is-­Mr. SUNDEEN. Not able to afford those kind of security measures. Mr. ROYBAl.,. The urban elderly are not able to afford them. There-

fore, they live in houses that are not as nice, not as large, not as well­protected as those that have a $10,000 a year or more income.

Mr. SUNDEEN. Yes, sir. Mr. ROYBAL. Mr. Hammerschmidt? Mr. HAJ\OIERSOHJ\IIDT. Dr. Sundeen, I want to thank you for your

ve~'y fine testimony. It adds a great deal to our record. I just want to comment on one of your suggestions concerning the

advisability of planning for subgroups of ol(ler persons according to their living arrangements and resources. Evidently this is being pro­posed to be followed out in this community. The previous witnesses that we have heard here testified about this pt·oposal.

Thank you very much. . Mr. SUNDEEN. Thank you. . Mr. ROYBAL. The next witness is Jennie, Magdaleno. Please come

forward, Ms. Magdaleno.

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STATEMENT OF JENNIE MAGDALENO

Ms. MAGDALENO. I took the 28 bus to go to Goodrich. I was going to my daughter's house. She lives on Lewis Place. 'rhat is what they call the street. I had gone, about half a block when somebody, this man, came. I thought it was a kid. He pulled my purse. But I thought it was some kids teasing me. But then he pulled harder and then I saw him run to the cal'. He had a car. I called for help but nobody came to help me.

So I went to my daught.er's house .and I told my daughter that they had snatched my purse. The boy that snatched my purse didn't look like a teenager. He looked like a college boy. He was tall and he had that bushy hair that they weal'. I got so scared that I almost fainted. From then on I even had to go see the doctor. If I had diabetes before it didn't develop until that day. The doctor said I had high blood pressure and diabetes which I am still being treatecl for.

I want all the seniors to know that when they are walking on the street to be sure and look back. Because before youlmow it, you don't lmow who is going to snatch your purse.

That is one thing that I did.n't do. I just kept on walking. So that is all. Mr. ROYBAL. Mrs. Magdaleno, at what time of the clay did this

happen? Ms. MAGDALENO. It was around 3 o'clock. Mr. ROYBAL. This was then in broad daylight, was it not? Ms. MAGDALENO. Broad daylight. That is why I thought it was the

kids that were teasing me, you know, pulling my purse. Mr. ROYBAL. At the time that it happened, did you holler or yell ~

Did you ask for any help ~ Ms. MAGDALENO. Yes. Right a way I asked for help. Mr. ROYBAL. But no one--Ms. MAGDALENO. No one came out. Mr. ROYBAL. "V ere there any people on the street at that time? Ms. MAGDALENO. No. There was nobody. :i\tI:t\ ROYBAL. In other words, you were walking down the street all

by yourself. Ms. MAGDALENO. Yes. Mr. ROYBAL. And this yOlmg man stopped his car and then snatched

your purse. Ms. MAGDALENO. There was somebody else on the curb, you lmow. I

turned into Lewis Place. There were two men. One was driving the car and he WIl,S on Goodrich Boulevard. The other one tall toward me, grabbed my purse, and took it to the car and they both took off.

Mr. ROYBA1r. Wel'e you hUl't in anyway~ . Ms. MAGDALENO. WeU j I was hurt in the al'll1 where I had my purse

because I was pulled. 0

Mr. RonAL. But he didn't knock you down, did he ~ Ms. MAGDALENO. No, he didn't. Mr. ROYBAT,. But he did hurt yOlt!' arm at the time that he pulled

the purse.

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Ms. MAGDALENO. Yes. It hurt me for about a week. I couldn't even move it.

Mr. RO'YBAL. How much money was in the purse ~ Ms. MAGDALENO. I had $30 and my brandnew glasses. I had to wear

some old glasses because I couldn't afford to buy new ones. I had paid over $100 for them.

Mr. RO'YBAL. Well, that represents a tremendous loss, particularly the glasses, in addition to the $30.

Ms. MAGDAI.ENO. Yes, sir. .., Mr. ROYBAL. Are you on social security at the moment ~ Ms. MAGDAl.ENO. Social security, yes. I am a widow. Ml" RO'l'BAI •. So that means then that the $30 was money that you

needed for groceries. Ms. MAGlJALENO. Yes. I was going to the market with my daughter.

But before I got to 1ler, they snatched my purse. ~ w

Mr. RO'YBAL. Mr. Hammerschmidt? Mr. RAMMERSCHlIUDT. Ms. Magdaleno, I jUS{i want to thank you for

appearing here before us as a witness. I think you know of Congress­man Roybal's great concern in this area. He is becoming a very in­formed and knowledgeable expert in this field. He comes here from 'Washington just for these hearings on Saturday, and I know that he appreciates his constituency coming forward like this to be helpful to our subcommittee. I want to join in his appreciation.

Ms. MAGDAl.ENO. Thank you, sir, for letting me talk. Mr. RO'YBAL. ~l'hank you very much. Jesus Hernandez, will you take the microphone, please?

STATEMENT OF JESUS HERNA~TDEZJ NATIONAL ORGANIZATION PRO SPANISH-SPEAKING ELDERLY

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Thank you, Congressmen Roybal. and Hammer­schmidt, for allowing me the ol?portunity to ,testi'fy at this hearing.

I am here representm~ the N a.tlonal Association Pro Spanish-S peak­ing Elderly. Our orgalUzation isa rela.tively new organizwtion. H was funded in 1975 by the Administration on Aging to research the cul­tural, psychological, and demographic needs of the Hispanic eldel'ly. Our goal is to provide triple-A's 'and the State offices on aging with informa.tion on the characteristics of the Hispanic elderly. We have five offices across ,the country, and each of them covers a region of t,he Uhited States. 'We are a nonprofit or~anizrution and we rely heavily on the membership to put up the a.ctivitles necessary for our elderly.

A suspect, obviously, does not normally seek out victims according to race. But too often, unfortunwtely, i,t is by age. The main telH~t for my reference here then is that the Hispanic elderly, when they are victimized, often face undue hardship becaU!~e they are almost tdtally facing a new set of circumstances. Language and cul,ture come into play, and somehow ,these elements do not allow the Hispanic elderly an equal chance -to deal with crime and justice.

'ren per,cent of the American population, Or 22 million people, are now over 65 years ()If age. Of these, over ,ti. million are of SpaniSh origin 01' descent. By the yeal' 2000 this figure could conceiv!1lbly increase to over 2 million. The proportion of the young to the elderly is incl'eas-

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ing, and anticipated breakthroughs in major killers like cancer and heart disease may swell ,the ranks of the elderly even more.

So the implications to the Hispanic elderly are simply that if ef­forts are not made to increase the already limi,ted supply of services to the elderly, ,the Hispanic senior citizens should expect to get even less benefits ill the form of transportation, social security, education, training, and so forth.

The elderly people 'are victims of violent crimes more than any other age group. But the minority elderly are victims even more dispro­portionately ,to the rest of the elderly popUlation. The Hispanic elderly have become fearful of being victims to the point of vh~t.ually b2com­ing prisoners in ,their own homes. Isolation, caused by external fot-ces such 118 widowhood, the death of friends, poverty, and physical and mental handIcaps, is difficult enough for them. But added to these 'are the fear of crime which forces the:In to remain in their llOmes through­out the day and night. No matter how many precautions are taken to proteot themselves in the home, still a sig).uficant percentage of the elderly crimes occur. w1thin the home. '

Why are the Hispanic elderly such likely victims of crime ~ The most widely accepted answer is that vandalism. is more common in low-in­come areas. The Hispanic:. elderly live in constant feat' of danger from gangs, burglars, and professional swindlers who prey on their gullibIlity.

Arter the crime has been committed, the Hispanic elderly suffer great psychological consequences because of their anability to deal with the si,tuation effectively due ,to their distinct cultm'aI and language dif­ferences. In many cases the p~Wchological consequences may require a longe).' recovery period than the aotual physical injury. For the His­panic elderly, things are very often nl:'.ver the same (I.£ter a crime. There is increased cynicism in and distl'Jlst df the law which is supposeq, to protect ,them, and grea:ter reluctance to ,take oot.ion against criminals who commit tite crimes against them.

The elderly in ge:Ileral have very low incomes I and the incomes of the Hispl1llic elderly are even lowel,', .. This factor se1'Ve5 to maintain t,his group in ghettos and bardos where rents are cheaper. A low income also makes ~b too expensiv.e to p.arti.,c. ipate in the pursuit of justice. It l1~nv becomes very expen~Ive to, !ret to !md from the cOUl'thollse1 to lure a lawyer even to walt outsIde, ,PI' to arrange for transportatIOn.

Furthermore, the Hispanic elderlya1;e vicbilnized by the willingness of service groups to make visits in their Spanish community. There are some exceptions~ of course. But physicians, for exalnple, have become extremely reluctant to practice in the crime areas. TV repair~ men, as an example, by not coming, further compound their isola­tion. The grocery store which will no longer delivel' groceries promotes a deteriorating health of the Hispanic elderly,

Spanish-spe'l11cing senior citizens face it ulllque situation. As members of the largest minority in this country who have retained a culture and language that is distinct from the majority population,their problems are multiplied. Communication becomes very difficult. Loans for home 'improvement or to cover it recent theft are almost nonexistent. Soeial1ife is nonexistent. .

The fact that there are no statistics on the 11101'e than 1 million Ris- , panic elderly is proof or an immediate need for legislation to promote

38

research on this population. With that in mind, I would like to make a few recommendations on behalf of the Asociacion National Pro Per­sonas Mayores.

No.1, I recoli:'lmend that the Govel'l1ment anooa~.)1loneys immedi­ately to develop new and expand existing programs for the purpose of researching the cultural and psychological peculiarities of the Hispanio el.derly.

No.2, that 24-hour bilingual social f>ervices, including protective services and public guardianships, be established for the purpose of encouraging more involvemel1!t in the Hispanic elderly community.

No.3, that compensation :for the elderly for costs associated with court cases such as tra,veland food, and for medical expenses for injuries resulting from crime, be allottecl to the elderly.

No.4, protection against reprisals from criminals 'through increased police protection.

No.5, self-defense and survival education in both Spanish and in English should be provided.

No.6, improved street lighting in high crime areas. No.1, removal of old and abandoned buildings which serve as hide­

outs for youth gaugs and other criminal elements. No.8, community escort services. No.9.} self-help pro~rams. Older peop~ 'J can help protect themselves

through volunta,ry actIOn when security is not available. No. 10, increased effort in the creation of block clubs or neighbor­

hood organizations which deter crime and increase social activity among the Hispanic elderly.

In the area of consumer protection we support consumer education through multipurpose centers and counseling centers which are bilin­gual and culturally sensitive to the Hispanic elderly.

Professionals such as physiciltns, lawyers, social workers, et cetera, also need to be educated on the cultural and psyohological characteris­tics of the Hispanic elderly.

We feel that urgent action on these mat4\rs is warranted because further delay could result in increased crimes·on the Hispanic elderly.

Thank you. Mr. R01.'BAL. Mr. Hernandez, thank you very much, particularly for

YOul' recommendations. I was listening to every one of them. They make a great deal of sense. You can be assured that this subcommittee will carefully consider them and, no doubt, include some of them in a report that we will be making.

There was one recommendation that you made that I would like to have clarified. I don't remember what number it was, but you said something with regard to self-defense and survival education for the elderl:v. What does that mean, Mr. Hernandez ~

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Well, this could cover many areas. Self-defense­there are basic techniques that the Hispanic elderly can learn that don't require strength, that don't require brute force or a specific weight of the person. Education in the form of how to prevent Climes in yourhotlsehold-certain locking devices, al'l1rming devices and other protective services that the Hispanic elderly can avail themselves of should be rna'de avaihtble to them. This information should be pro­vided in both Spanish and in English.

Mr. R01.'l3AL. Well, I have been a.karate student for many years and I do not advocate that karate be taught to senior citizens. "

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Mr. HERNANDEZ. Right. I wouldn't either. I would say that there al'e other devices put out in the market that may be of benefit to the Hispanic elderlY.

Mr. ROYBAL. 'I thought what you meant by self-dere,nse is that all senior citizens get into karate class. W' eil, in a situation, for example, that was described by one of the witnesses where the assailant had a knife at her throat, many of the even seven-degree black belts-..which is not the highest in the world; nine is the highest-couldn't get away from a situation of that kind.

Mr. HERNANDEZ. No. In fact, I would advocate that when being con­fronted with a knife or some weapon like that, you really shouldn't resist at an unless you have special training that has been proven to be effective.

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, even with special training, karate is the basic defense of speed. I have noticed that I have slowed down since I became 39 years of age last week. You can't possibly keep up that speed. I am now 60 years of age, and I was much faster when I was 50, and much faster than that when I was 40 and 30. So I am glad that you agree with me that karate is not a so-called defense mechanism that should bo taught to senior citizens,

Mr. HERNANDEZ. Probably not. I agree there. Thank you yery much. Mr. RO)."BAL. Thank you. Mr: HAM}1ERSCH1trIDT. You leal'll a lot when you participate in c~:m­

gresslonal hearings. I knew that Ed Roybal was a very outstanclmg Congressman in 1Vashington. I lmew he was an outstanding former city councilman of Los Angeles. But this is the first time I knew he was a karate expert. .

Mr. ROYBAL. I am not an expert. Mr. lLu.uIERSCH1IUDT. Also, I always assumed he was 50. Today I

learned he is 60. So you do learn a lot at hearings. We appreciate your testimony very much. Mr. HERNANDEZ. Thank you very mnch. Mr. ROYBAL. Well, the record should show that I only admit to

being 39. The next witness is Helen Hards. Is Ms. Harris here~ Mr. Ham­

merschmidt, Helen Harris is another activist in the community. Please proceed in any manner which you desire.

STATEMENT OF HELEN HARRIS

Ms. HARRIS. My name is Helen Harris. I am by no means here speaking for all the s6nior citizens in the black community where I lrve. But I am here to speak lor quite a few that I talked to about some of the problems of crime in our commnnity. They are frightened to death. They won't talk about it. Some I have helped. Some I have carried to the hospital and they refused to talk to the doctor about what h!tppened.

There was a break-in just across the street of the home of a lady 107 years old, just about 2 weeks ago. They broke into her house. The only thing they took was her food. even the food that was coolted on the stove. They took everything out of her icebox, and she had a piggy-bank and they took that. (il

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The seniors in my community are almost afraid to go to the store. They have always lived a good clean life,and have never been involved with the police. When the police come in, that is another enemy. The seniors think they will be arrested. Lots and lots of times the crime is not reported to anyone. Maybe the neighbors might know about it. You can't call the police for somebody that, won't cooperate at all. They will tell you point blank, "Don't call nobody. Just forget it."

About 6 months ago a lady's 'arm was broken. Someone snatched her purse. She didn't give it up. Our teaching in the community with the seniors is: Don't hang on to anything. Just give it up. But on the spur of the moment like that there is a serious problem of knowing what to do and when. So this particular lady held onto her purse, and they didn't break her arm but they bruised it terribly. She refused to go to the doctor. She didn't go then and she hasn't been yet. Of course, she used. hot salty water, Epsom salts and what have you; and it is OK as far as we Imow. But in years to come-she is already 65 years old­this problem will come back to her.

But petty crimes in our community are not always inflicted on senior citizens by teenagers, even though It is often thought that it is teen­agers that are committing these crimes. These are young men and women who haven't had a job for over 6 months in their lives. They never stay on a job long enough to draw unemployment. They are out o£ a job and looking for another one. It is not because they don't want to work. They just can't pass tl~e test. They graduate~ from high school. Many of them went to jUlllor college. The only thmg that WIll help this crIme pro'blem is to work on the unemployment problem. It is ridiculous to sec the unemployed people hanging out on the street and sleeping on the benches in my area. These people ha.ve children. They are married.

I worked with youth this summer and I questioned them closely. I had 27 in my group. '1'he only employed people in their homes were themselves. They were paying rent out of the Speedy ( ~) program money they were drawing. Many of them were graduated from high school, had scholarships to go to college, but didn't have enough money to supplement themselves to go along with the scholarship that was paying their way.

So I would like to say that most of the crime in my community is from the lack of a good distribution of goods and services, unemploy­ment, and the lack of communication. Many of the seniors, especially the black ones in my community, refuse to Join organizations which is a very protective thing you do find in large cities. They refuse to join organizations that they can somewhat be protected by-like everybody gomg to the store to shop together. They want to be individuals. They will get out their little shopping curt and go to the market themselves. This is very dangerous. I offer my services when I am not on my job. "Please call me, I will take you."

They say, "No, I can take care of myself. I have never been afraid to go where I want to go." They are unaware that the problem i~ serious out in the stroot.

'.On the 1st, the 2d, the 3d, and the 4th of the month, and on the 15th. it is very dangerous. The senior citizens are not getting their money. That is the dal that tl1ey prey ()n them. They even take their shopping carts of groceries after they have bought them and

Ii I

It

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push it out of the store. They even highjacktheir groceries. The seniors go along just as quiet, and won't say anything. You see some fear in the faces: "Are you having a pro'blem~:'

"The young man took my food," they say very quietly. They refuse to say too much. They just go away.

The fear is so heavy you can almost cut it with a lmife. We have good police protection. You can't criticize that. They are

there. They are. almost there standing and waiting for a crime to happen. But it is not a police problem .. It is a social problem. We have got to do something about it. The seniors out there are insecure; my whole community is insecure. 'Ve cannot have security for the seniors until we have security for the entire community.

[Applause.] . Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you. Mr. HA:M:M:ERSOHM:rnT. Ms. Harris, I want to add my thanks for that

very disturbing but poignant story that you just told us. It is not lost on our hearing by any means. We 'Very much appreciate your being here. "

Ms. HAmus. Thank you. Anytime you are In town, come down to 27th Street and I could show you a few things. .

Mr. HA:M:MERSOHl\UDT. Thank you. ~ Mr. ROYBAL. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the list of wit­

nesses. We do have, however, some time and we would like to hear more testimony. However, we don't have time enough to hear each and everyone of you. We will recess and then continue the hearing this aftel'lloon at another site. 'Ve will, however, make it possible to proceed lmder a so-called 1-minute rule. In the Congress of the United States there is a l-minute rule where any Member can get up £01' 1 minute and speak on any subject that he wants~ and use that 1 minute to make a point.

Now, since it is already 12 o'clock, I will ask that you confine your remarks to 1 minute. There will be no questions asked. But. take ad­vantage of that 1 minute to make all the points yOlt possibly can and want to make.

The first one that will 'be called is Francis Loya.

STATEMENT OF FRANOIS LOYA

Ms. LoYA. Good morning. ., I was robbed at 28th and Workman Streets. But I was able to hold

on to my purse. It was 11 o'clock in the moming. It happened in 1973. ... There were two young men in a car. So one got out of the car. I thouzS'ht

he was going to one of the residences there. So I moved toward the,slde of the street to give him his rights. So he t\lrned back a.nd pulled my purse. But I happened to hold on to my purse and scream as hard as I could. I was going to the bank to pay my bills, and I had some olothes with me to leave at the cleaner. So with both of my hands I held on to my purse, and I screamed as hard as I could.

So the other guy in the;car said; "You might as well leave her alone. Everybody is watcl~ing us." So that is ho," I managed to save .the money that I was gomg to use to pay my rent and pay the doctor bIlls. That is all. ,,'

Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you very:nuch.

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Next is Irma Nunez and she will be followed by Carlos Estrade, and then Augustin Hernandez.

Please proceed.

STATEMENT OF IRMA NUNEZ

Ms. NUNEZ. I am a teacher with Garfield Community Adult School and I work witJh their gerontology program. So I deal 011 a day-to-day basis with seIlior citizens. There are over 100 students at each site that I work at, and there is a core of students that I work with on a very intimate, personal basis where they come to me and confide in me since I am their teacher.

At one site, I started teaching an information class of community services and found that their main concern was crime. Many of them started telling me about situations where their home had been robbed three, iour, five times-tJhe same home. They have been beaten up in the elevator of the senior citizens building. Their checks have been robbed froin them because they know when they cash their checks. They were really 'concerned about the situation.

We had a speaker come and he told them that what they should do is write ,letters about this problem if they re~lly wanted some action. l'hen all of a sudden they all froze. They saId, "vVe'don't have prob­lems. Nothing is wrong. There is no problem."

Ever sinc6 I discovei'ed the situation I stalted :pushing them and encoura~ing them to speak up. We ended up meetmg with the com­munity m Oity Terrace. We found that not only the senior citizens but the entire community-the church, the schools, the businessmen, the parents, the children-was concerned with the same problems. We ended up developing a proposal that we presented to Supervisor Edel­man on crime prevention.

At first, the initial tl~g they wanted was more police protection with more patrol cars. When we met, we realized that that wasn't going to solve the problem because there is great intimidation between the sheriff's department and the gangs, which is a. very definite threat. But then also, it is not only the youth. This is what we stress. There are a lot of people coming into the community who are professional swindlers and whatever. So we feel that the sheriff's department has to work on a very personal level with the community to develop crime prevention programs.

We presented a proposal, which we think would be a fantastic sys­tem throughout the community. But we want to stl1rt small-to have a neighborhood storefront office that was fully staffed with people who were chosen by the community so that the community feels that there are people who actually care, who want to be there, who aren't just there because it is their Job, and who also are willing to work on a 40-hour basis, If they are paid 40 hours a week, that 40 hours a week is dedicated to that community in solving the deeply :rooted problems of crime. More patrol cars is a superficial thing, and it mayor may not solve the immediate problem. It doesn't seem to have solved any­thing. Crime is getting worse. But developing a program where they are working with the community, finding out what are the deeply rooted problems, and working with the youth is very important. If you have one person who is ,in charge of this pI'oblemwhich is of such

43

great magnitude, they are not gojng to be able to do anything even though they may want to. We want them to work with the com­munity on a personal level. They have to contact. the various com­munity organizations and meet with them on a l'egular basis. They have to develop programs for the youth to get them involved 1n activities. Because in this particular area-and I think this is true throughout east Los Angeles and the country-the young are bored. There is nothing to do. There is nothing made available to tl1em, espe­cially in city areas. We had a panel where a witness testified that she was in charge of a park and that she wanted to, but could not, provide the facilities for children to be involved in activities because moneys were not allocated. The community says they want to work with the sheriff's department on a personal level. They want a foot patrol where the police officers say hello to the community and the com­munity knows them and sees them every day, and they are not afraid to work with them.

My senio.r citizens-and I think all senior citizens-feel that before they are able to express their problems, they must be able to trust you. If they do not get to know you first on a personalleve}, they cannot talk to you on a more political level. They have to trust you and know that you care before they feel that vou are going to really do something about their problems. U

After we had this meeting with Edelman he said he was very im­pressed with the proposal. I can get a copy for you and have it sant to you or deliver it myself. He felt that this is somethin~ that really has to be done. But senior citizens want to feel as if thell' efforts are not in vain. Too many times they have tried. They are old. They are disgusted and fed up, because nobody has really tried to help them. .

Mr. ROYBAL. We will appreciate having a copy of that proposal to be made part of the file.

Thank you very much. The next witness-and again I w01.j1d like to remind you that we

are under the 1 minute rule-please proceed and identify yOUl'self. Mr. ESTRADE. Carlos Estrade.

STATEMENT OF CARLOS ESTRADE

Mr. ESTRADE. I will be a senior citizen very soon. I am 47 years old. However, I would like to say that I will be there before you will.

Mr. ROYBAL. May I remind you--M':L'. ESTRADE. You are taking my time, Congressman. Mr. ROYBAL. No, on my time. I will remind the gentleman that the

senior citizen age has alrel\.dy been lowel'ed to 45. . (i

Mr. ESTRADE. Oh. I am there already. I would like to mention that the most importl\.nt thing that tam

concerned with is the iact that I will be a senior citizen very soon. I am very concerned with what is going to happen, ..

First of all, our neighborhoods are deteriorating at a rapid pace. What will happen next ~ Forced redevelopment and possiblyrelocl1-tion by those of us that are left behind. .

We have had juvenile problems in the past, and owe know that tlle iuveniles are the ones that are causing most of the problems as far

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as senior citizens are concerned. We have them now, and by the looks of things we will have them when I am a senior citizen waiting to be a victim. That is a negative thought, but I am afraid that is a fact.

I would like to believe that our elected officials are doing something about that now because I am really frightened for when I will be a senior citizen.

Thank you very much. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you, Mr. Estrade. The next witness is Augustin Hernandez. Is he present? 1Vill you

proceed? STATEMENT OF AUGUSTIN HERNANDEZ

Mr. HERNANDEZ. I hope you are not counting my minute since I got up from. my chair.

Mr. ROYBAL. No, your minute will start now. Mr. lliRNANDEZ. All right. Honorable Congressman, officers of Los

Angeles, and senior citizens of Lincoln Heights and elsewhere, my name is .A.ugustin Hernandez. I am sorry that Mrs. Hernandez is not here to speak for herself because she has been the victim of two crimes. She is not the type who likes to speak in public. Although if Mr. Roybal remembers, she sure likes to dance. vVe were together last fall at one of the hotels for the crippled children.

Mr. RO"l'13AL. I think you might add. that we danced together. Mr. HERNANDEZ. Yes. Anyway, I am going to go back 6 years, just before I lost my eye­

sight, because at that time I lost my cal' .right in front of my little beauty salon. That was our first terrible experience. They found the car several days later but, to my surprise, it didn't matter then because I had lost my eyesight within 2 weeks and I couldn't drive anymore.

Then, as I said, Mrs. Hernandez has been rohbed twice. Once she was robbed coming from the beauty salon. She had her bags in her arms and her purse hanging on her left or right arm. Someone from behind cut her purse. There was a car waiting, as we·understand, in the drive­way and they were gone. She was robbed again while waiting in line for the bus. She always carries her fare in her hand so she doesn't have to open her purse. But unfortunately when she sat down she noticed her purse was open and her wallet was gone. She told the bus driver but the bus driver couldn't do a thing about it. She knew that the l'obber was in the bus but nothing was done. Later we received a phone call that her wallet was found on the No. '7 bus, which is far from where she had lost it. Anyway, we went and picked it up, and she. repossessed her important papers.

Our next terrible experience happened just a few months ago. We live right across the street from here, and we have bars on our win­dows. It doesn't look like a home; it looks like !Ii jail. It's too bad that we have to have that. She wanted to return to New Mexico, where we are from, after her last bad experience. But our brothers from New Mexico wrote and told us, "Don't come here because crime is worse in New Mexico," so we are staying here;

Ladies and gen~lemell, I l~ope and pray that none o~ you w~ll experi­ence all these terrIble expe:rIences that we have experIenced III the last 5 years. They entered our home and ransacked it, and took some of our possessions.

...

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For a man that doesn't see too much money, and his wife helps to pay expenses, it is too bad we have to lose this kind of money and have this kind of experience.

I say again, may God bless you that you don't experience all these bad things.

Thank you. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. The final witness will be Fra.nces Devine.

STATEMENT lW FRANOES DEVINE

Mrs. DEVINE. Thank you, Chairman and Congressman. To make this short and sweet, I live in apartment 2. I was a victim

November 11, 1974. That was 2 years ago. I went downtown to see about my taxes. Then I went shopping from tIlere. I did my shopping. I bought a purse. I came home. I got on a bus. This is a little different experIence from the others that have been mentioned here. You can)t even go downtown and shop. So I got on a bus tUld got off: I used to take my car to my bus line~I live only 5 blocks from It. Bu.t they say exercise is good for you as you get older. So therefol'3, I left the car home and I walked home. I got off the bus and walked home.

I soon found out that four teenage girls followed me. One cresped up on me after a block and a half from the bus. One struck me over the head and split my head. I had to get f&e stitches and go to the hospital.

I screamed for hel}? All fql~lr ran. The neighbors saw it. A witness saw it through a W1l1dow. Another party came out and called the .' police department. Action was taken in a hurry. The police depart­ment did a good. job. I screamed for help. I had nothing in my hand, but I was holding my hand over my'head. The blood was streaming like a water fountain.

Three men came out of a house and chased these four teenage girls. I did what was right. I was petrified when I was hit over the head. I stood there. She grabbed my purse. She grabbedmy othel' purse that I had bought. The neighbors chased the girls. They threw the two purses down. I recovered the two purses, but my wallet was taken. I found myself in the hospital.

I have been very frightened. I had nightmares for a month. I didn't recover my wallet. My clothes were all ruined and so forth.

I was told to report it to the State. I called up at first, but I really didn't get good information over the phone. They weren't nice. She seemed like she knew nothing about it. The cop drew a circle-I have got it here in my purse-where to call. She wasn't very cooperative. She wouldn't gIVe me any information. I was still under nervous strain. I Was nervous and couldn't get any sleep. So I gave up. I was frightened. I couldn't do anything. It was a frightening expe,,rience. So I didn't go file that with the State. I never recovered anything. r lost my wallet. My clothes were all ruined and so were my purse and ea~rings, and so forth. But the nightmares you get are really fright­enmg.

So the police don't have to tell me. When I shop now, and walk down the street, every 5 minutes I turn and see who is following me. I am frightened. This happened at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. So it is

60-417 0 - 77 - 4

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:luite an experience for you. Once you have it, then you know what it is 11ke.

'That is why I came here today to tell you my experience. Mr. ROYBAL. We thank you very much, Mrs. Devine, for appearing

before the committee and telling us of your experience. What we have heard this morning, ladies and gentlemen, is just a

little sample of what is going on throughout the country. 'We have had hearings elsewhere, and the same story is repeated almost ver­batim. Too many have had this experience. It is the intent of this sub­committee to make the proper recommendations, hoping that some­thing can be done about this overall problem.

I wish to thank not only Mrs. Devine, but to thank each and every one of you for being present. I had hoped that this place would be fun. But the testimony that has been presented is sufficient for us to at least be able to determine that there is a definite trend existing in the Nation in the victimization of senior citizens, and that something has to be done. You can be assured that we on this subcommittee, even though we are not a legislative committee, can make recommendations to tlie Congress of the United States. We can assure you also that whatever we do, we will do collectively, whether weare Republicans or Democrats. I have never worked on a committee before where there has been this much cooperation. Both sides want to do something and we will continue with that effort.

I thank you very much for your presence. Mrs. DEVINE. May I add one thing, just shortly. Mr. ROYBAL. Very shortly, because 'we have a hearing this afternoon.

The time we take here takes away from the other one. Mrs. DEVINE. I am sorry. I cancelled my 1lippointment-delayed it....­

and I have to go.It is making me nervous because I already cancelled it at 1 o'clock and I have got a sister that is waiting for me.

r want to say that I testified and the other three I didn't identify because I was petrified. But Mr. Roybal and Congressman, I want to say I think we ought to do something about going to court. That is the big problem. I was subpellaed five times. You 0'0 there, back and forth ana all that, and you have to lose. My husban'a had a job and he lost half a day, and it made him nervous because he had to be at work. He had to turn the water off, and it was making him nervous. Each time I was frightened to go home because I thought I would be at­tacked. So my husband would pay a fellow to 0'0 with me to court each time. So therefore, the court should do a littie bit more to speed up things.

Thank you. Mr. HAMMERSCHMIDT. Let me add lIly appreciation to that of our

chairman to all the witnesses that have been here this morning. Thank you so much.

Mr. ROYBAI,. The hearin~ will recess until 2 :30 this afternoon at the Stella Mn,ris Center in Los Angeles. Thank you. . [Wh~reupon, at 12 :30 p.m., Saturday, September 18, 1976, the heal'­mg recessed to reconvene at 2 :30 p.m. that snme day at another location.]

AFTERNOON SESStON

Mr. ROY-BAL. Gentlemen, the subcommittee meeting will come to order.

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As you know, this is the Subcommittee on Housing and Oonsumer Interests of the House of Hepresentatives. Uur SUl)COmllllttee h(ls jurisdiction over housing, propel'ty tax relief, consumer problems, lef?,al services, fraud and oliher crimes.

roday, our inquiry will focus on crime committed against the el­derly. We had a very sad experience this morning of sittmg through at least 21/2 hours ot testImony fro111 senior citizens who had been ViC­timized. What we heal'd this mornmg we have heard in other parts of the country, and we can see that there is a pattern. Senior cltizens are attacked; their purses are snatched. Many arB beaten up, and we sin­cerely hope that this subcommittee will tind a way in which WB can help elimmate that problem.

We had envisioned for a long time a situation where police depart­ments throughout the United I:::!tates may have, as they do now, .a ju­venile officer. They should also have an officer whose duty is to t~k~ care of the problems of senior citizens. As we look into thiS matter; we will be asking the opinion of experts, to try to determine what we should be recommending.

I would like to acknowledge the presence of my colleague, Oongress­man J aIm Paul Hammerschmidt, from the great State of Arkansas. I am proud to say that Mr. Hammerschmidt has been one of the lead­ers on the Republican side who has fought for better funding of pro­grams to assist senior citizens. May I also say that he is one of the lead­ers on the Rep'ublican side that has gained :n!lt only the respect of his fellow RepublIcans, but of Democrats as well. We work together to try to do a good job for senior citizens. As a result of that cooperation, this committee recommended, and was ableto get through the Oongress of the United States, an appropriation of $:3.3 billion to be used for problems related to senior citizen afl'airs.

We are making progress, hut from what we heard this inorning, that progress is not sufficient. Again, I would like to repeat that Oongress­man Hammerschmidt has been most cooperative, is most interested, and without his help, this subcommittee would not have had the im~ pact that it has had up to the present. .

May I present to you then Oongressman Hammerschmidt from the State of Arlransas.

Mr. HAMMERsc:H:lIUDT. Thank you very much, Mr. Ohairman. Of course, I am de1i~hted to be in the 25th Congressional District of Oali~ fornia, the distnct of my good friend, Ed Roybal, one ox the most effective Members of Oongress. I won't repeat too much of what Ed just told you, but we were here a year ago looking at housing prob­lems ox the elderly. Since that time, $3.3 billion has been appropriated for housing for the elderly to be utilized over the next 3 years across the country. Then funding fbI' the Older Americans Act was incl'eased by $24.5 million, and for the first time, funds were appropriated for the construction of senior centers. Ed Roybal was very instrumental in the passage of aU this legislation. Of course, he serves on another very key committee, the Appropriations subcommittee, that deals in matters of health, education and welfare. ..

He has also devoted a great proportioll of his time to just sensitiz­ing otheT Members of Oongress to the needs of the elderly, particularly the minority elderly, who indeed deserve representation in government.

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I thoue;ht we had a very good meeting, and we had some fine wit­nesses tIns morning over at Lincoln Heights. We are here thls after­noon to p:robe a specific issne, as Ed pointed out-the problem of crime against the elderly. .

1V' e, in Washington, have to know what is happening in com­munities throughout the country, and we are here this morning and this afternoon so that you can share your experiences with us.

Many of you have ideas and recommendations and perhaps solutions to some of these problems. W' e therefore tnrn to you to listen and to learn and to work together with you for change.

Thank you very much. Mr. ROYBAL. I thank the gentleman from Arkansas. Ladies and gentlemen, the first witness this afternoon will be Sgt.

John Wolfe of the Los AngeIes Police Department. Will the sergeant ple~se come forward and proceed in any manner in which he may • des He.

STATEMENT OF SGT. JOHN WOLFE, CRIME PREVENTION SECTION, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENl'

Sergeant WOLFE. Th!),nk you, Congressman Roybal and Congress­man Hammerschmidt. On behalf of Chief Edward M. Davis, of the Los Angeles Police Department, we welcome the opportunity to pm:­ticipate in your subcommittee hearing today.

I have prepared a statement on behalf of the police department that I would like to read for the record.

Mr. R(lYBAL. Will you please :proceed. Sergeant WOLFE. Being a vlctim of a crime is probably the most

traumatic experience a citizen in this 01' any other city can experience. But no citizen is more affected 01' traumatized than when a crime is committed against a senior citizen. Yet more than 25 percent of the crimes against property committed in Los Angeles are committed against seniors. The reasons for this are many. In this report, we hope to illuminate these reasons and what the Los Angeles Police Depart­ment is doing to rescue the senior citizens from their plight.

The criminal is aware that the senior is no physical match for them. Their age has weakened their eyesight, their reflexes are slower, alid their ability to recall has lessened with age. ..

As a resldt of these handicaps, the senior citizen is an easy target. There is an increase in vulnerability to physical injury as one ages, and the senior is unable to physicaJly ward off an attack by a younger person. Thus, an older person, when attacked, is more likely to suffer " greuter injury than a younger victim.

The fear of becoming the victim of a violent crime, with all the pain and tl'uuma involved, is great enough to keep many elderly at home behind locked doors und windows. This seriously limits their ability to participate'in community and social activities.

After being victimized, seniors often isolate themselves even more. Many do not report or prosecute their crimes out of feM' of reprisal from the criminal. .

Many seniors depend wholly on their social security checks to main­taill their existence. When their check is stolen in a purse snatch or a stl'eet robbery, many must do without necessities until their next check arrives. '

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A robbery or burglary of $25 can mean much more to an individual who depends on a fixed income. Expenses incurred as a l,'esult of a crime, such as ambu1ance service, medical bills, and repair and replace­ment costs, may have an extremely heavy impact on the older victim,

Through our experiences, we have found many seniors who live in homes so poorly secured that their homes 01' apartments are virtu~l cracker boxes to the. would-be burglar. They do not have financial re-sources to pay fo:r: these propel' security devices. '.

Because of their limited income and physical handicaps, many seniors are unable to own or drive vehicles. They must walk or travel by public transportation. This increases their exposure to the criminal element and makes them more vumerable to street crimes. .

Dealing with senior citizens presents special problenls to the police department. When officers arrive on the scene, the victim is often so emotionally upset and disoriented that acquiring key facts or evidence is more difficult. The victim, in a state of shock, is unable to give the officer sufficient information to enable him to render assistance at that point. They often cannot tell the officer where they are, or even where they live. They cannot tell the officer what happened to them 01' what the suspect looked like.

Officers are trained, therefore, to broadcast initial information to responding mlits, to aid them in their search for suspects in adjacent areas. Because of the time involved in receiving this information from the victim, this broadcast is delayed, and the suspect is able to escape.

Senior victims often require medical tr~atment, either at the scene, or' after being' transPQrted to emergency medical facilities. In-depth interviews must wait' until the victim has received proper medical treatment. Days may pass before the victim becomes able to relate the facts surrounding the crime. c

After the field officers have completed their reports, it then 'bec(>mes the responsibility of the department investigators to conduct the fol­low-up investigation. Sometimes the reports are incomplete because of the physical or emotional state of the victims at the time the l.'eport was taken.

Due to the age of the victim, it is often impossible for the victim to render a good description of the suspect. When officers apPl'ehend a suspect, it is difficult to positively identify him.

'When cases ~o to court, it is often necessary IOl.· investigators to transport the VIctims to and from court. 'With our present court, sys­tem, cases aI'e usually continued and prolonged for indefinite periods of time. With the passage of time, then, the credibility of the victim can become lessened if a poor memory can be proved. In these cases, the suspect of tell goes free.

Efforts to l:e~olve these problems are wi~esJ?re!td ~n our. dep.artment. Academy trammg teaches our officers prellltllnary mvestlgatloll tech­niques which enable them to acquire much information through propel' questioning. This enables them to file as complete a report as ,Possible.

When dealing with senior victims, pl1tience and understandmg m)ls~, be carefully exercised. Officers are taught that although appreheuslOn is an important aspect of police work, preventing the crime berore the

. fact is of equal importance. . . . , Although law enforcement plays the prImary role III redllcmg crIme,

it is important to realize that we cannot look toward law enforcement

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to take total responsibility for minimizing the effects of this dreadful cancer in our society. Oitizens must understand that in this country, the people are the police and the police are the people, and therefore, it is incumbent upon every citizen to share in that responsibility for the prevention of crime in our community.

With this thought in mind, Ohief Eclward M. Davis instituted the basic cal' plan in June of 1969. This program was designed to span the communication gap between the citizens of Los AIlgeles and the police.

The concept of the program is very simple. 'We assign teams of of­ficers to patrol a given sector of the city on a ~!4-hour basis. These officers contact citizens residing in this area and organize meetings with these citizens once a month at a given location.

For the first time since policemen stopped walking footbeats, be­cause of economic and budgetary problems, the fl1celess uniform haA now taken a personality and a name. Oitizens we:l'e able to meet and discuss crime problems with field officers and were: able to receive ad­vice on how to solve these problems. Because of the success of this program) Los Angeles citizens became more involved in crime prevention.

On June 1, 1971, the Los Angeles Police Department initiated the. neighborhood watch program, which, by the way, has gained national priority, since it has been adopted as an officiai program of the Na­tional Sheriffs Association. The neighborhood watch program orga­nizes the citizens of a neighborhood into a more localized meeting group to discuss crime prevention.

Neighbors often meet for the first time at these meetings and find that they have similar problems. They not only become more familiar with each other, but with the eriminals in that particular neighborhood.

Orime prevention presentations have been prepared to teach the citi­zens what to do to protect themselves from the criminals. They are shown slides and movies and given instruction on personal and home security. Oitizens are elected to maintain the groups and lead them toward responsible solutions for their problems. Brochures and pamJ?h1ets on crime prevention are distdbuted to citizens at all ofthese meetmgs. Neighborhood watch window decals are displayed in con­spicuous places on homes to notify the criminal that the neighborhood is united in its crime prevention efforts.

Operation identification is another facet of the neighborhood watch program. This simply entails recording all serial numbers of persona] property and keeping the record in a safe place. Then all valuable property is engraved or marked with the citizen's Oalifornia driver's license, 'because that number is compatible with the state's criminal record computer network. Oitizens are then given window stickers and decals to warn the burgler that the property is marked for identification.

Due to the rapport developed between citizen,s and police as a result of these pro~rams, more citIzens are reportin~ more crimes more ac­curately. ThIS makes it e!lsier for officers and 1l1vestigators to compile information. which would lead to the apprehension of suspects. Oalls for services have increased and mOlle suspects have been apprehended in the commissio~l of crimes becallse obsel'vant neighbors have been able to communicate better with their neighborhood l)olice.

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Our "Lady Beware" presentation has become one of the most pop­ular crime-prevention programs for women in the city. The film "Lady Bewal's" bas been viewed by thousands of men and women and is w~ll received in all areas of the city. This film demonstrates many tech­niques women can use to protect themselves while alone in the streets, as well as in their homes. This film is instrumental in enabling all the citizens of Los Angeles to travel the streets of the city day or night with a greater feeling of security.

"Semor PoweI'll 1S a newer film designed specifically for senior citizens. It is a tremendous aid in helping the police educate the el­derly in crime prevention techniques. In addition, we have just com­pleted an audiovisual presentation entitled "Crime Against the' Elderly," which deals with bunco schemes involving elderly victims.

Our department is now embarking On a neW program deSIgned spe­cifically to involve senior citizens in crime prevention. The l)l'ogram is called the senior deputy auxiliary police. The members of this or­ganization will receive training by the Los Angeles Police Depart­ment in crime prevention and membership cards which will affiliate them with the Department.. ))

After training, these seniors will be sent to their(senior citizen clubs and organizations to recruit additional seniors aulli to eduente other elderly citizens . ..;\S th~ trainees gr9w in numb.er~, so wlll their involve-ment III commumty crlIDe-preventlOn effort.s; .. J ,

These programs were designed not :for the purpose of producing happy victims, but rather to lay the :foundation for a genuine citizen's moveW,ent, whereby a united community can take action in an area vital to the maintenance of safer city streets.

These programs will have It definite resistance and preventive effect if the elderly and. the victims of any age realize that they are not alone in their efforts to reduce crime.

n the ordeal of crime prevention cnn be made less stren1lous for the elderly victim, if their fears and confusion concerning crime preven­t.ion can be allayed by counseling and advice~ and if "they can begin to see mote positive results in the reduction of criI91h the elderly vic­tim will be more willing to cooperate fully and malhtthe efforts,neces­sary for a mOre successful crime prevention prograIlJ,. C

Thank you. . :-MI'. ROYBAL. Sergeant, I thank vou very llltlCh for your very ex­

cellent testimony. I would like to have some questions answered, more for the purpose of clarifying points than anything else.

I wns interested in your description of the basic car plan, including what it entails and what it cloes. I understood you to say that there are tetLmS of offieets that go out in a patrol car on a· 24-hour basis, and they concentrate their efforts in areas whera'there is a great proportion of senior citiZens. Is that correct ~

Sergeant WOX-FE. That is correct, Congressman. We have had this ]Jasic.car plan since 1969, .but that WaS the very first att(;lmp~ we ~nde m th1S department to b1'lng the cop closer to the commumty. S111ce .. t,hen, we l~ave develope4 t!le neighborhood watch,~nnd also we titre now 111volved 111 a team pohcmg coI1cept~ where the officer becomes even mOl'(\, familial' with the community people. -r .

The officer is now held responsible and. ac~hntable for the crime problems that occur in his particular are!]', with 26 policemen now

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assigned to each team. We have 65 teams throughout the city, and these teams all work with the community in direct relationship with the problem at hand, whether it is a young part of the community or whether it has a heavy concentration of senior citizens.

Mr. RonAL. It is my understanding that the basic car plan was not originally designed to work closely with the community, but that subsequent to that innovation, the neighborhood watch program came into eifuqt. It is designed to work very closely with the senior citizen com?!En~W. +m I un?-erstanding it correctly, or would you make that clarlficl1tl\')n, If you Wlll ~

Sergeanl~ WOLFE. Congressman, the basic cl),r plan was the very first effort that our department engaged in in this whole area of crime Jlr6vention-to get the policeman oul.; of the station, to get him on the (fJreet, and to get him talking with the people. That was our first effort.

From that original concept, we developed neighborhood watch, and we are now in this team policing concept with neighborhood watch. It is a very vital pal't of our team policing effort.

Mr. ROYBAL. Does that mean that field officers are actually assigned to work with clubs ~

Sergeant WOLFE. Y~; clubs and organizat~ons of all kinds, includ­ing schools; church groups, and private organizations, such as Kiwanis I1.nd the Rotary Club.

Mr. ROYBAL. All right. Now, how many officers are involved in the neighborhood wa.tch program at the moment ~

Sergeant WOLFE. All of our officers that put on a uniform, and all of the officers that investigate crimes, including our detectives and our traffic units and our specialized investigation teams divisions-the robbery, homicide, bun~b-forgery divisions. Virtually 90 percent of the entire police departmeAt is devoted to the neighborhood watch con­cept and team policing.

Mr. ROYBAL. All right. The neighborhood watch concept, then, is not really geared to the problems of the senior citizen. But as the name indicates it is the neighborhood watch program, where everything is taken into consideration.

Sergeant WOLFE. That is correct. Mr. ROYBAL. All right. Now, do you have a program within the

police department that devotes its time strictly to senior citizens' problems and senim' citizen participation ~

Sergeant WOLFE. Yes; we do. Mr. ROYBAL. What is that program ~ Sergeant WOLFE, That program is the senior deputy auxiliary police. Mr. RonAL, Will you describe the operation of that ~ Sergeant WOLFE. All right. The operation of that program is going

to be developed citywide. It is now a pilot program out in the Venice fl,rea. That program is specifically designed to enlist the volunteer help and the cooperation of senior citizens, The department trains those senior citizens to further their program, the senior crime-preven­tion pro~ram, in exerting through peer-group interaction .a stimu­lating POIllt where that senior, who is trainep' by our department, will go out and train other seniors to devote their ultimate attention to crimes against the elderly.

Mr. ROYBAL. Now, is this strictly an LAPD program ~ Sergeant WOLFE. Yes; it is strictly all LAPD program.

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Mr. ROYBAL. This is not a program that is also in operation with the sheriff's department? Do you know if a similar program may be in operation at the momenH ,-

Sergeant WOLFE, The sheriff's department does not have a similal' program operating at the moment, but the sheriff's department is in the process of designing a program specifically for senior citizens. M~. ROYBAL. All right. Now, what has been the experience of this

pilot project with regal-d to the actual participat~on of senior citizens~ Are they willing to participate ~ Do they ~ What has been the response~

Sergeant WOLFE. The response has been overwhelming. We have had, ever since 1969, a very strong nucleus of senior citizens who have had membership in our police community council groups. These seniors have been really the impetus behind organizing our neighb9r~ hood watch groups.

Now that we have that Senior DAP program, those same seniors are willing ~o . devote their time .in organizin~, calling,. and planning. We are receIvmg an overwhelmIng degree of cooperatIOn from these seniors.

Mr. ROYBAL. ';VeIl, testimony present~d before the subcommittee this morning clearly indicnJtes on various occasions that senior citizens are reluctant to even seek the advice and counsel of the police. They are reluctant because they fear retaliation. Has that been part of your experience in the pilot project that you had in Venice ~ .

Sergeant WOLFE. Oh, yes, Congressman, but the only problem that we faced is that. initially; the attitude of the senior is quite a suspicious one. They are very suspicious, particularly with any governmental intervention into their lives. But we, in our department, have tried to make it ,personalized to the point where we do not tell these seniors that we are going to regulate their lives. Instead, we continuously try to impress on them tliat it is for the sake of crime prevention. We tell them that we don't care how they live their lives. It is just that we want to help you help yourself, and we are available to assist you in workint.r with your social life, to minimize the impact of criminal victimization.

Mr. ROYBAl,. Well, in other words, the whole thrust of the pro­g'".I'!l-nl. is to involve the senior citizen in an attempt to have something dQne for himself and for the community as a whole.

Sergeant WOLFE. That is tru~. Mr. ROYBAL. And this is a program that would require the full

cooperation of the police department. ' Now, we have had testimony all over the cOlmtry >to the effect that

, crilneSJ'l'jgamst senior citizens are not reported; that most of them , go l.mrerJ,Drted. What has been your experience here in Los Angeles ~

Setgs~nt W Q;r.FE. We find that to be true here also, but again, that doesn't deter us from continuing our effort. We recognize that a lot (if seniolt$ are either ashamed or are suspicious. to the point where they don't wunf, to make a crime report. And then they are also vitally concel;nEld'With any retaliation from the criminaL They don't want to. spend uay in and day out in court . .All of these factors cOIl.tribute to their relu~tance to get involved.

13!lt l\,gairir-througli this group collective effort, this program is ex­plained to tiiem over and over again, and we find that we are enlisting the coo:pel'll:tdbn of more and more people i1s we continue this program.

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It is not a panacea. We don't profess that. But instead, it je going to be a very slow process, because we are really attempting to cliange the attitudes of these people.

Mr. ROYBAL. Would I be correct then in assuming that thf.l LAPD does not, in effect, have a program that is specifically directed to the problems of the senior citizen, but that it does have a program of neighborhood watch and a program called the basic car plan, and others, that are really designed more to curb crime in general than crime against the senior citizen ~

Sergeant WOLFE. No. We have these two, Oongressman, out we also have that senior DAP, senior deputy auxiliary police program, that is specifically designed to combat crIme against the elderly.

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, how extensive is that program ~ That is, what kind of membership do you h,1}:ve ~ What kind of response are you getting from the commumty as a whole ~

Sergeant WOLFE. We intend to go citywide in that program, but right now. we have it just as a pilot program in the Veni~'-.,.rea.

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, that, in itself, leads me to believe thalj the pro­gram is, in effect, in its infancy. It is not being applied in the East Los Angeles-Boyle Heights a1'ea,nor is it in Eagle Roqk, nor in Lincoln Heights. It is, then, a project plan that is hoped will be suffi­cient to be able to convince the authorities that the same thing could be done elsewhere.

Sergeant WOLFE. That is correct. Because of our limited resources, our budget is not large enough to accommodate this program citywide.

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, Sergeant, it seems to me tha/:: this is the problem nationwide. The police departments do have their hearts'in the right place. They want to do something. Their programs are not extensive enough simply because the funds are not available.

We have been talking of course in general terms about Federal fund­ing to police departments to set up a program that is directly designed to meet the problems of senior citizens. That would entail the estab­lishment of a senior citizen desk, just as you have now the jUV'enile desk. This is all in the talking stage. Would such a thing, in your opinion, meet with acceptance insofar as the LAPD is concerned ~

Sergeant WOLFE. Definitely, Congressman. Yes. Mr. ROYBAL. Now, I have had the opportunity of working with

Ohief Davis before he became chie.f, when he was the chairman, I think, of the'Fire and Protective League a long time ago. I know that he isa capable individual. I haven't had the opportunity of talking with him with regard to the problems of senior citizens. I am glad that you have answered this question in the affirmative, because it seems to me that if I had discussed this with him, it would have defi­nitely been in the affirmative.

Now, this, of course, is something you cannot probably answer, but what kind of fundinO' would it take to set up a pilot plan in Los Ange]es,one that would even establish a senior citizen desk that would devote its entire effort toward the problems of senior citiz~ns ~ Oould you., off the top of your head, come up with any particular amount, or would you rather not do so ~

Sergeant WOLFE. Well, I aIll not prepared to discuss budgetary quest. ions an~ answer those kinds of questions, but what ~ ca~ ~ay is that 1n the CIty of Los Angeles, we have almost 400,000 semor CItizens,

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and they are a significant portion of this entire population. We have never distinguished nor set them aside in any way. 1n heavily concen­trated areas of seniors, we have continued to get them involved ·with the neighborhood watch, and because of the shortage of manpower and other logistics, we l1aVe been unable to really sustain the effort the way we want to. So in terms of what moneys it would take to get a program such as this going, we are talking about a great deal of money, but there are program areas that come into it that I don't have the specifics on at this point. ~,

Mr. ROYBAlJ. Well, I was 11Oping, Sergeant, that you would have ~ said to me, our program in Venice IS costing so much. If we put it in Boyle Heights, put it in Lincoln Heights, and so forth, it is going to cost that much more. However, we are not here to find out what your program is costing in Venice, but we are anxious to get your opinion, and we have, regarding such a concept where the police department would devote a great deal of its. effort to the problems of the senior citizen. I am glad that you agree that it is a good idea.

Sergeant WOLFE. Congressman, I would also like to say this, that our senior DAP program is being carried on now in the Venice area with little, if any, funds. It is a nonbudgetary program that we have incorporated into our existing programs because we know that there is not going to be any money available next week or in a month to develop a broader program. 'Ve are doing it with the available re- " sources that we have now.

Mr. ROYBAL. Do you have in the city now, the junior DAP program ~ Sergeant WOL1!'E. Yes; we do. Mr. ROYBAL. Is it still quite an active institution ~ Sergeant \VOLFE. Very much so. It is a very viable program. Not

only the junior DAP's, but a1so the junior nei~hb~rh00d watch, .the explorers and the LEGGS. By the way, these kIds, III these orgamza­tions are a component OI our programs. They are the ones who, through their voluntary effort, do an awfnllot OI things for us. They distribute fiyers, and go out to senior homes and put better locks on the seniors' doors and windows-these kinds of things.

Mr. ROYBAL. If yon were present this morning, the testimony was to the effect that crimes against senior citizens mostly involved teen­agers. The recommendation was made that something ha~ to be done about the teenage problem; that you have to attack both at the same time. This is quite 1\11 order. . C

Are you convi~cw that the youth program in this city is adeqUate, or do we have. a l&hg way to go yet~

Sergeant WOLFE_, 'Ve h~ve a long way to go, but we are at least making a dent in it. We have, through the years,sat down and tried to come up with viable alternatives and some real, good, strongsolu­tions. The only so]ution,we see is through the peel' group level-inter­action 110t only in the you~gste~'s ·own age group, but also with seniors~

MI'. ROYBAL. One mOre questldn, Sergeant. Does the LAPD have meaningful statistics with regard to crimes ..

perpetrated against seni()r 'citizens ~ Sergeant ·WoLFE,Yes; we have a very sophisticated computer net­

work particularly categorized by age groups. Mr. ROYBAL. I ·am glad to hear that, becanse testimonybefol'e the

subcommittee, again in other parts of the cQuntry, clearly indicated

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the Dp)?Dsite. I am glad to' knDW tha.t YDU dO' hav~ such st~ti.st~cs, and yeu WIll be hea,ring frDm us seekmg further 111fDrmatlOn 111 that regard. ..

Mr. HammerschmIdt. Mr. HAlIDIERSCI-Il\UDT. Sergeant W DIfe, we thank YDU very much

fDr a very cDmprehensive statement. I regret that I had to leave fDr part of it to' use the telephDne, and sO' th.is qu~stiDn m.ay have been ~n­swered in YDur statement. Is that Vemce pIlDt prDJect funded WIth any Federal funds ~ Is LEAA invDlved in finy way ~

Sergeant WOLFE. We have nO' Federal funds at all. It is a nDnbud­getary prDgram that we have.

Mr. HAlIOIERSCHlIUD'l'. Is LEAA invDlved thrDugh the pelice de­partment in any Federal prDgrams fDr the elderly ~

Sergeant W DLFE. NO', CDngressman. Mr. HAMl\IERSCI-IMmT. We have many witnesses, sO' I am gDing to'

foregO' any further questiDns, Mr. Chairman. Mr. ROYBAL. Sergeant, we thank YDU very much fDr excellent

testimDny. Sergeant -WOLFE. Thank YDU very much. Mr. RDYBAL. The next witness is CDncha CisnerDS. Mrs. CISNERDS. WIth Mrs .• r enes, because we were tDgether. Mr. ROYBAL. Will YDU and Mrs. J Dnes please CDme fDrward. Please

proceed. STATEMENT OF CONCHA CISNEROS

Mrs. CISNEROS. I have a card which was sent by the pDlice O'n NO'vem­bel' 4, 1975. Mrs. JDnes and I were cDming frDm Adams and 32d Street. It was abDut 6 :30 in the evening. It was the mDnth Df Nevem­bel', and we were apprDaching Dur heme in the middle ef the blDck. I had my pDcketbDDk hanging this way, and I felt something was play­ing with my pDcketbDDk. I wasn't afraid. I thDUght it was a child Dr dDg pulling my pDcketbDO'k, SO' I kept, Dn this way, but I did nDt turn arDund. I didn't loO'k. I didn't turn to' lODk.

SO' after fDur Dr six times, he pulled it real hard, and with his hand, he threw me Dn the street. I fell dDwn backwards, and then I cDuldn't get up. 1 was flat Dn my back. I was hurt. It was this leg. That caused me to' get arthritis, and I haven't been feeling well ever since.

Then he tDDk my pDcketboDk Mrs. JDnes was with me. She didn't knew what was gDing Dn. She turned around, and she started hDllering fDr help, and then the neighbDrs came Dut and they helped me up.

Meanwhile, I saw the man that had grabbed me going back ]ike this with his head dDwn 'RndlDDking back where we were. I didnit recDgnize him. I think it was a bushy~haired man. I didn't have much mDney. 1 had about $22 and a lDt Df my belDngings, such as my social security and all the identificatiDn cards, my hDusekeys, and Dther items. :M:y grocery bills and many Dther things that were in it. He picked the pDckE)tbDDk, and I had the handles left. SO' he tDDk all the rest.

The.n the' police came and they tDDk the reference, p~lt I never gDt anytIllng back. The expense I went through was hDri',lble, because I had to' have all the locks in my house changed. I had to' have new keys. The pDlice came ·and they tDld me that I had to' have everything changed, because I1Dst everything,

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The sensation that I l1ave now-it seems to me that somebody is arter me, you know. You ran't help feeling that way. Sometimes I am scared to go alone in the streets.

Mr. ROYBAL. What time of the day did this happen, Mrs. Cisneros ~ Mrs. CISNEROS. 6 :30. About 5 :30 or 6 :30. Mr. ROYBAL. vVasitc1ay1ight~ Mrs. CISNEROS. Yes; it was daylight. It wasn't too dark. Mr. ROYBAL. And were you going to the store, Or what were you

doing~ Mrs. CISNEROS. We were going home. Mrs. Jones accompanied me. Mr. ROYBAL. You were going home. A,t the time that the thief took the purse and Mrs. Jones called

for help, did anyone come.to your assistance ~ Mrs, CISNEROS. Yes; Mrs. Miller and Mr .. Miller and a few other

people across the street came. Mr. ROYBAL. But by that time, he had already taken the purse ~ Mrs. CISNEROS. Oh, yes. He had already taken the purse. By the time

the police arrived, there was no chance of finding anything. . Mr. EOYBAL. Would you like to add anything to that, Mrs. Jones ~ Mrs .. J ONES. No; I wouldn't recognize him. He must have been bare­

rooted, or he had sneakers on. We didn't even hear him and he was gone. It harpened so quickly that I didn't know wh. at was happening. But I saw her laying on the ground, and I started screammg, and by that time, people came out. He was hunched over. I cou1dn~~ even tell how tall he was. He was a young fellow. I would say probably 19,21, or something in that category.

~Ir. ROYBAL. Did you reg~ire any medical attenti?n aft~l' that~ . Mrs. CrsNERos. Well, I dId go to a doctor, but he Just saId well, It

was one of those things. He gave me pills to stop the pain, and all of that. I don't beli~ve in taking any pills for pain,because they go up to your head. I don't like medicme.

Mr. ROYEAL. ViTell, sometimes it may be necessary.l'hank you 'Very much for your testimony.

Mr. Hammerschmidt. Mr. HAM1\IERSCIDIID'l'. Would you tell us again what that card is

that you have with you ~ Well, 'I didn't mean for you to have to come up here, but I was just trying to see what ptocedure they used. This card, for the recora, is a request to contact investigator, and this was received when you reported the robbery to the police ~

MI'S. CIS~EROS. That is right. That is right. Mr. llAMMEnsoH1\uDT. And this is just the 'aclmowledgment of thaM Mr.s. CISNEROS. We went over there, alld they didn't find anything. Mr. HAltu;£ERSOH1\UDT. No, I have no questions, Mr. Chairman. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you very much, Mrs. Oisneros. The next witness is Jesus MartineZ'. Is he here today ~ Will you

please come forward. ..

STATEMENT OF JESUS MAR'rINEZ

[Whereupon, Mr. Jesus Martinez presented a statement ill 0

Spanish.]

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Mr. ROYBAL. Mr. Garza will summarize in English the testimony presented by Mr. Martinez.

[Whereupon, Mr. Garza presented the following translation of Mr. Martinez's testimony:] .

Mr. GARZA. Mr. Martinez related an incident that happened to hIm on the way to the pharmacy to buy some medicin~. As he walked from his home to the pharmacy, he was attacked by four youths, ?ne ~ho knocked him to the ground, and the other three proceeded to kICk hIm. They kicked him so badly that he lost his eyesight in his right eye. They took his money and escaped, so therefore, he wasn't able to pur­chase the medicine. Now he has the costly problem of medication for his eye. He proceeded to tell us that he called the police and reported the crime, but he was unwble to identify the youths. He says diat the pt'oblem is that we have youths of all races and ethnic groups per­petuating crimes against the elderly. He was very grateful for being here and for the Congressmen giving him the opportunity to present his problem to us, and he thanked us for beinp: here.

Mr. ROYBAL. Will you ask, Mr. Garza, in Spanish, what time of the day it was wIlen this occurred ~

Mr. GARZA. It was between 6 :30 and "{ o'clock. It was already getting dark.

Mr. ROYBAL. Congressman, do you have any questions ~ Mr. HAl\IMERSOUl\IIDT. No questions, MI'. Ohairman. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you very much. From the State of California's Office of the Attorney General, we

would like to ask Anthony Francis to come forward. Will you please proceed in any manner that you may desire.

STATEMENT OF ANTHONY FRANCIS, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE

Mr. FRANOIS. Thank you very much, Congressman Roybal. The gentleman to my left is Mr. John Devoe, who is also a member of the staff of the attorney genera-I. .

I have been asked to attend the hearing today to make a few com­ments about the attorney generaPs consumer information and protec­tion program for senior citizens.

Prior to coming to the meeting, I was told that the subcommittee .. apparently has requested and received some written information re- ~ garding the total program. However, I would just like to make a few comments regarding the beginning of the program and bring the sub-committee up to date as to what we are doing now.- ..

The White House Conference on Awng in the early part of 1911 indi~ated conc~:L'l1 ab?ut the criminal VICtimization of ~enior citizens, an~ 11l pal't, thIS partIcular concern was noted by the crIme prevention Ulllt of the attOl:ney' general's office, and the attorney general himself. Whereupon he mdlcated to the unit that we should try to develop SOIM type of program that would hopefully reduce or mInimize the criminal victimization and consumer fraud against senior citizens.

_ St~bsequent to that, we d~d some pl'eliminal'y research in our unit, . l11\d It was established that the problem Was of such gravity that some~

thmg should be done ..

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At tbat time, we weren't quite sure what. Ultimately, we decided that a massive approach at educating senior citizens about the ways that cllimes are committed against th.em, and 'also in ways of 'reducing the potential for criminal victimization was apDrop:riate.

With that in mind, we proceeded with the 'assistance of localla wen· forc6ment, senior citizen groups, ·and other agencies, to develop con· ferences aTound the State of Oalifornia to discuss ilie kinds of problems, some of which you heard today.

Some of the main 'problems that the senior citizens felt were appro­priate for discussion and education ,indudedibunco schemes, ,burglaries, landlord-tenant .problems, estates 'and conservatorships, nutrition, buy· ing, pricing, ·and label'ing and insurance and land investment frauds.

All of tliese conferences have been ·put togetber with the full sup· port of the law enforcement agencies in the ,related communities, as well as individual citizens in the respecti'Ve communities.

One of the biggest problems that we have found in the ·area is that there is almost a t.otallack of hard data. To date, we are aware of some ~ studies that have been made, the most recent of which is a field survey \ or field poll. I have 'a copy of the field poll here, ·and I undel'stand that it is currently being·analyzed by the Department of Justice, Bu,rea.u of Oriminal Statistics, 'ahd will in fact be published as soon as the analy. sis is completed. If any of tIle, m~mbers of the subcommittee would like to take a look at it, I would be glad to have you do so.

In ·addition to tha,t, the Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City has also conducted a study with regard to criminal victimization of senior ~itizens, and I believe that that study is also available. If not now, it certainly will be in the 'Very near future.

We 'also antJidpa,te the oavailability of another study Telating to the victimization of senior citizens which will be published by the Mult­nomall Oounty pr.oject, whiCll is in Oregon. I understand that that :par­ticular study is to be available this month. If anyone is interested in further iollowup on. that, I am sure if you contact our office, we will be able to give you some information ~n it in early October.

MT. HAMMERSOHJllIDT. MT. Chairman, if the witness will excuse Ule for 1 minute, I will ask unanimous consent that when it is timely we incorporate this report, its summarization, the Midwest Institute re­port 'and Multnomah all as part of ouroffidal record.

Mr. ROYBAL. Will that be ma,de ,available to the subcommittee ~ Mr. ~ANCIS. I am sure it will be, upon request. We d~m'~ have ~he

reports ill our office now, 'but I am sure that we <ian aSSIst ill gettmg them if you wish.

Mr. ROYBAL. We w.ould like to have them and make them a part of the record. (.

Mr. FRANOIS. F,ine. Mr. ROYBAL. Without objection, that will be the order. [Retained in committee .files.] Mr. HAMl\:IERSOHMIDT. Thank you. Mr. FRANoIs.Thankyou veTymuch. Mr. ROYBAL. Please proceed. Ml" FRANCIS. I thought you would be interested in some of the data

that is available. That is why I got into that rightawPoY. I think, just to jump over here to another item, the subcommittee

might be interestea in the Kansas Oity report. I think that relates

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to the research project that I indicated. Some of the steps relative to that indicate that in the area of burglary, and this is burglary of the homes of senior citizens, the estimates are that 50 percent of the seniors whose homes were burglarized lived alone; 29 percent suffered multiple burglaries; 10 percent had to give up work due to fear of crime; 23 percent were actually in the home at the time of the burglary, and I suspect that is the notorious kind of "cat burglar" that we hear about; 53 percent of those burglaries, which is not uncommon, oc­curred during the daytime. And 45 percent stayed at home out of fear of crime ..

In Othel' words, a large percentage of senior citizens, not only in the State of California, but throughout the Nation, are, in fact, pris­oners within their own homes, and in some communities here, within the city of Los Angeles, there are many senior citizens who would love to participate in nutrition programs but who don't because th~y are afraid to leave their homes ill order to participate in such programs. .

Mr. ROYBAL.. These programs are in the middle of the day, are they not~

Mr. FRANCIS. Yes. Mr. ROYnA!,. And they are still afraid to participate ~ Mr. FRANCIS. They are afraid to It'ave their homt's. As a matter of

fnct. at a conference which was held here in Los Angeles in 1974. one elderly gentleman got un and asked me what could bt' done about the problem. He is a resident of the city of Compton, and he said that: "Yeah. Wt' have nutrition programR thpl'e." Rut he said: "If I leave home, I will go back and my home will be burglarized." ~.

The problem is a seriou's one, and it iR quite common. and we have many senior citizens like that around the State who don't want to leave home. not even in the daytime.

I wOllld like to leave some time for auestions. so I would like to bring yon to the point wht're we are now in our prOm'am for Renio1' C'itizens.

In our efforts to expand the program, to get the word out about the crime problem and how to minimize the chances of becoming a victim of a crime, w.e decided that perhaps we should train those people who are direct service providers to senior citizens. Along that line, we have instituted training seminars around the Stat.e. Pal'tiC';nJlnts in these seminars are professionals, such as Bocial workers, nutrition directors, directors of senior housing projects, area agency personnel-those people who are involved in title 3 operations and the information and referral proPTams-visiting nurses, and so forth. . .

Approximately sIx to eight of those trainin~ seminars have already been held here in the sonthern nart of the State, and we now have approximntely eight. on the drawing board, as far north as Redding, and as fnr south as 'Visalia. . .

W'e feel that this is one way that we can increase the amonnt of information thnt gets out and gets directly to senior citizens. We also f~~l that armed with tho Itv!til!'.ble information in the field, those prac­tltlOners who are in fact in direct contact with seniors may be of more help. So that is what we are doing- at this time. We hope that helps.

Mr. ROYnA!,. As you lmow, we had a 'seminar here in this room yesterday.

Mr. FRANOls. Yes.

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Mr. ROY:BAL. It was quite successful. Yesterday morning, how many were here, Mr. Garza ~

Mr. GARZA. There were about 150 in the morning. . Mr. ROY:BAL. About 150 in the morning, and maybe half that number

in the afternoon. Let's say that there were 150 that pa1'ticipated in the seminar. Now, how effective, in your opinion, are these seminars, in view of the fact that 45 percent of the senior citizens still decide to rernain at home because of fear of going out into the commtmity during theday~

Mr. FRANCIS. W· ell, there are a number of considerations. First. of all, it has been our experience that many of the senior citizens who in fact attend these seminars do not come alone. As a matter of fact, we have asked for and received assistance from local transpodation programs.

For example, in Sacramento, the Sacramento elderly nutrition pro­gram has buses, and those senior citizens in the area who did not have their own private transportation, or could not come with anyone else, certainly had an opportunity to attend by just simply getting on one of the elderly nutrition buses.

The other thing is that most senior citizens belong to some kind of an . organization, such as the Retired Teachers Association, the AARP­American Association of Retired Pel'sons-Seniors in Retirement, and so on. They tend to come to seminars together, and we have attempted to solicit the support of the seniors and to get them out, in orde~' to get this information to them through their organizations.

On the other hand, we have also attempted to involve the media, just as you are doing here today, in order to reach as many as possible in their homes. ..

We have no real scientific way of evaluating the post-impact of the program.

Mr. ROYBAL. ·Well, r have no doubt that the retired teacher, the r.e­tired professional, and so forth, would respond to seminars and to meetings of this kind. But I am still to be convinced that the average person getting the minimum amount of social security, which is the case in this area primarily, does not go to these meetings. TheseJl,re the people that stay at home; these are the people that are frightened. These are the people that presented testimony to this subcommittee today and in the past-people who are. fearful of the fact that some~ thing will happen to them, even during the day.

An? th!s is why r asked the question, how effective are these semi~ uars, l1l VleW of the fact that 45 percent of the people stay home.

r agree with you that they are eff.active for those that attend, bllt don't you agree tliatattelldance under other circumstances would be a lot better?

Ml'. FUANOIS. r am not really sure. r feel that the problem of apathy is an all-pervasive one. We certainly are aware of that problem, as far as the crime picture as a whole is concerned. That is, citizens are reluc­tant in many cases to become involved when they actually witness crimes or in many cases when they!\.re in fact themselves victims.

We estimate that maybe 10 to 20 percent of certain kinds of crimes are never reported, and a highel' percentage in certaill other areas. For example, we feel that many more seniors.are vict.ims of "pige<>n drops" and bank examiner frauds than we know about. I think apathy .is'a problem. "

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The other point that we are trying to address is this matter of the isolate-the individual who does not belong to a club or organization, the individual who hardly gets out-by providing training to the prac­titioners who may be in contact with that individual.

Many of our citizens obviously are on some form of welfare assist­ance. 'l'hey are in contact with a social worker. Many of them l'eceive services from visiting home nurses, and so forth, so we are trying to get it out that way. We have also tried to tie in the media, as I said, so some attempts are being made to take care of that portion of the pOlHllation. It is difficult to say how successful that is.

Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you Mr. Hammerschmidt. Mr. !I,uIMERSOHIIHDT. In our hearings here, in Washington, and

other places we have been around the country, we have heard that the fl'equency of crime committed against elderly citizens is no greater, proportionately, than crime committed against the balance of the general population.

These statistics come from police files. We recognize that they may be distorted, because of the elderly citizen's great reluctance to i'eport a crime or to get involved. I hope these reports which are forthcom­ing-the one you are doing, the one Midwest Research Institute is domg, and the other one-might give us a little bit better handle on what really is occurring in elderly crime victimization. I don't think that we have enough facts on this problem.

Evidently, the Los Angeles Police Department is doing a very good job of statIstical reporting, and their records alone will be helpful to this subcommittee.

Mr. FRANOIS. Right. Mr. HAIIIMERSOHMIDT. We have heard time and time again that fear

and apprehension may be just about as debilitating as crime itself to. the elderly population. It is in this broad, general area that we are grappling for solutions, and we appreciate very much your help to the subcommittee today.

Mr. FRANOIS. Yes. Congressman Hammerschmidt, I had a chance to review the field poll very briefly, and I think that it may in part anSwel,' the question, because it seems to break down that information according to age and education and types of crime frequency, and so forth, So that may be of some help.

And we, too, are concerned about that. We are attempting to not only get information from other sources, but we are trying to find ways that we cali do it within our own organization.

Mr. HAIIIIIvmscHIIHDT. ~Vell, Mr. Francis, we appreciate you and :Mr. Devoe beulg with us. .

MI'. FRANCIS. Thank you. Mt'. ROYBAl:.. Thank youvel'y much. Mr. FRANCIS. I woulc1like to have the copy of that study back when

you are finishec1 with it. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you 'Vel'y much. Ell'a Jarreau. Will you proceed~ please.

STATEMENT OF ELRA JARREAU

Mrs. JAUREAU. I am Elm Jarreau, ancl I have been attacked five times.

Mt'. ROYBATJ. ,,\V'ill you tell us about it ~

'I I!

.. ".

'Ii ..

I I

..

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Mrs .• TARUEAU. The first time was in downtown. I had gone to p,:et something, and as I was getting on the bus, there was someone pUslllilg me. I thought they wanted to get, ahead of meto get on the bus before me, because' it was crowded.

"When I got on the bus, I noticed that my purse was op(m, and my wallet ,,,as gone and my coin purse was gone. Luckily I had taken out my fare before I left the store. There was nothing 'I could do about it, because I don't know who took it, but I think It was the tall girl who was right behind me. She was shoving me, and that is when she opened my purse 011 this ann and took my wallet and the Uttle coin purse.

MI'. ROYllAT,. What time of the day was that ~ Mrs .• TARHEAU. That was about 4: o'clock in the evening, in the sum­

mertime. This was about '( years ago. Mr: ROY13Ar:, Alll'jght. You said that you have had that experience

fivo tImes. Mrs. JARHEAU. Five times. Mr. ROYBAL. 'Would you tell us about on(\ other till1e~ Mrs. JARREAU. Yes; 'the second time happened on the lust day ill

1075. I weut to the grocery rig11t al'ound the cornel' from where I live, and I bought some groceries, and I was going back home. I had my purse in one hand. I didn:t ~ear a man come up bel1ind my bac1~. He grabbed my purse, and I wouldn't let it go, and he told me: "Lp,t It go. I~et it eo." I didn't. I dropped my shopping bag with my groceries, and 1 fell down and he dragged me about I) 01' 6 feet, or I'Pjltybe more, and then the handle broke, and that is why he got it, ancl he left with H. I didn't have any CllRl1ge, but thete was about $2 or $31eIt.

Mr. ROYBaL. Were you hurt at the time you fell ~ Mrs .• TARREAU. Yes; I hllrt that arm and my foot, and I have been

suffering with that arm ever since. Mr. ROYBAL. Did you have to go to the doctor at the time that this

l1appened~ Mrs. J~O\RREAU. Yes; I went to the doctor, and I had to put a hot

applique on it. 1'11e third time happened when I was coming from the doctor. I was sitting on the bench waiting for a bus. They stopped for a red light, and he called me a bad name and said to give him the purse. I wouldn't, and I turned my head. 'When I looked around, he was getting out of the car to come and o-rab it. I started running back to the doctor's office. Then the greenligYlt came and they had to move, because they had aU the traffic blocked. So they didn't get it that time.

Mr. ROYBAL. Each one of these times, they went after your purse ~ Mrs. JARREAU. Yes. Mr. ROYBAl>. And each time they took some money ~ Mrs. JARREaU. Not every time. They got money three times from me. Mr. ROYBAL. Alll'ight. Mrs. JARRFAU. But twice they didn't. Mr. ROYBAL. Did you make a report to the police department every

one of the times ~ " :M;rs. JARREAU. No, just OM time, when they gl'abbed me on the

lawn . . Mr. ROYBAL. All right. Now, why didn't you report this to the police

department the othel' four times ~ Mrs. JARREAU. The reason why 1 didnjt is because I don't see so

good. You see, if I can't identify them, th~ police can't do me any good.

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Mr. ROYBAL.· Did you contact the police department ~ Did you tell them about it ~

Mrs. JARREAU. The one that dragged me on the lawn I did. Mr. ROYBAL. But llOt the others? Mrs. JARREAU. No. No. Mr. ROYBAL. And the reason that you did that is because you have

been told that unless you can identify the individual, there is no use making the report?

Mrs. JARREAU. That is right. 'I'hey told me that if I can't identify them, they can't do any good. About 2 weeks ago, a little boy on a bike was passing around on the sidewalk. (I think they shouldn't let children ride on the sidewalk with a bike.) I had a very small coin purse. I was just going to the store, and then just before I got in the door, he passed by. I had my arm hanging there, and a small piece of the purse 'Was hanging' down. He slipped it out, and then he took my house key. There was ljil1 in there. Then I had to have a dead-bolt lock put 011 my front door, which cost me $25. So this is about $36 I was out of.

Mr. ROYBAL. All right. Now, these instances occurred over a period of how many years?

Mrs. JARREAU. Well, abotit 6 or 7 years. But the last three times happeneCL not very long ago.

Mr. ROYBAr ... 'I'he last one was in 1975, was it not? Mrs. JARUEAU. No. About 2 weeks ago; that little teenager took

my ptl1'se. 'Mr. ROynAL. Oh, it was about 2 weeks ago ~ Mrs. JARREAU. Two weeks ago. Mr. ROYBAL. And what time of the day was that? Mrs .• JARuEAU. That was early in the morning, about 9 o'clock. Mr. ROl.'13Ar ... Did you report tliat to the police? Mrs. JARUEAU. No, I didn't, because I couldn't jdentify the boy. I

didn't know him, and he was nothing but a little boy about 12 or 14 years old.

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, I would suggest that even though you may not be able to identify the individual, you should make a report to the police. I realize that the police cannot do very much unless you can identify the person, but it seems to me that a report to the police would bo in order.

Mrs. JARREAU. I live neal' the police station, on Santa Barbara. Mr. ROYBAL. I hope that it never happens to you again, but if it

does, let the police know. Mrs. JARREAU. Since then, I don't go in the street. I need things

ltt the store right now, but I don't go unless my children or some of my friends come and take me. That is the only way. .:

Mr. ROYBAL. And how far do you live from the store? Mrs. JARREAU. Not very far. Just about foul' blocks. I could walk

over there and get the little things that 1 need. Mr. ROYBAL. And you sti1l prefer not to go to the store? Mrs. JAR:m~AU. 'I'hat is right. Ml·. ROYBAL. Regardless of the time of day ~ . Mrs. tTARREAU. Regardless of the time of the day, because that lIttle

hoy just picked that purse out of my hand; you know, out of my hand like that, and left my handke~hie£ and a list of what I wanted.

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., ...

yI ...

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Mr. ROYBAL. This testimony we are hearing now is typical of what we hear in Washington and heal' all over the United Stntes. It is un­fortunate that it does occur, but it is occurring.

Mrs .• TARREAU. Yes. Mr. ROYBAL. There is no doubt that at this: very moment, something

Eke that is occurring. Mrs. JARREAU. I think they should take those children riding bi-

cycles off of the sidewalk. That is where they get your money. ~.fr. ROYBAL. Well, we thank you very much for your testimony. Mrs. JARREAU. OK. Mr. ROYBAL. Next is Jose Duarte. WiU you proceed in any way you

may desire. STATEMENT OF JOSE DUARTE

Mr. DUARTE. Yes. My name is Jose Duarte, and I want to add to the list of victims that you heard here today and yesterday.

Mrs. Soria was O"oing to describe the crlme t.hat happened in her part of town. I will just describe three incidents that she told me to relate to you. One is a crime that happened at 3 p.m. to a 60-year-old. Her purse was snatched from her arm with $40 in it. A young man and a girl were working along together, and the woman was driving the car. The man got out of the cal', snatched her pUl'se, got in the car, and they drove off so fast that the lady couldn't even take t.he license plate number of the car. She made no police report for fear that they would come back and hurt her.

Another victim, a 79-yen,r-old lady, was knocked down at '7 p.m., and, thrown undel' the bushes by a house. lIer purse was taken with $55, which she was saving ·:for her rent. No police report was made, again due to fear.

This lady no\v is in a convalescent home, suffering with a mental condition due to this assault. She is recuperating from that experience.

Another lady, 67 years old, was robbed. Her purse was snatched. She , only had $8 in her purse. It happened a block away from a bank at 11

a.m. in the morning. Again, no police report was made becaUSe of fear. All of the three victims, because of feat', didn't report the crimes. Mr. R,onAL. Now, Mr. Duarte, in your opinion, if the police had

It community-based organization, such as the neighborhood watch pro­gram, for example, and they went to the victim's home instead of the victim going to the police department would there be a difference inso£al' as making out the report is concerned ~

Mr. DuARTE. I certainly think so,. Congressman Roybal. I have a recommendation thn,t probably will describe something to that effect.

Mr. ROYBAL. Will you please present your recommendation ~ '. Mr. DUARTE. I will. I would like to l1'1ake a brief presentation,

though, on other matters. It is 11 very brief presentation. Some of the problems that we have with the bck of security in a

given situation are a result of the current inflation. I have 1i::nown senior citizens that disconnected their phones because they are too ex­pensive.Some senior citizens are even giving :up their cars, because the pl'lce of ~as is too high.

At public £o.cilities such as public parks, certain lights are turned off bf'cause of budgetary cntbacks from that governni'entar agency. Security personnel are not there any longer because of budget cuts. A

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number of thinO's having to do with security are not in existence now because of budg~t cutbacks becal~se of. inflatio~. . .

r just want to add that in.Oa11fo1.111a there IS ~.l~ ... v called the VICtlm of violen.ce law. That law wIll compensate the vICtun for the damages, w1w,thel' it is ])e1'so11a1 or medical, and for belongings or goods that were stolen. They can be I'eplaced if they file a claim form: J~ think it is the State attorney general's office that compensates VIctIms of crime for some of the things that they lost-their personal damages . . Al;1yway, my Pl'~POSlll and rccomme!ld!1tion iS,not a de,terrent,. but It nnght be sometlnng to prev(mt or chmmate crImes agamst semors. I am proposing the, establishment of a civilian patrol especially for senior citizens, Civilian patrol personnel could be deployed in those neighborhoods where 'there is a high incidence of crime against the el<hwly. These persons could be assigned on foot and in unmar.ked vehicies with n,' two-way or citizens band radio. They could include a frequency that would be tied in with the local poHce department, so they ('ould call jn for help. They could be tied into the local communi­ctttiol)s system.

These' civililUl patrol persons could also act as investigators for AwincUe or fraud' cases, and could initiate action through our legal system, on the pcrpetrlttor of the cdme, . Oivilian patrol. personnel could be selected from the senior citizen

population. "Te just heard here today that there are a number of l'etir~.c1 policemen and security officers that could be called upon to bo part of this pat.rol.

The,y would be id(\ntified by an arm band, or a similar marking, and they could carry It police stick, a whistle, a can of Mace, handcuffs, and a two-way radio with a beeper signal device for communication purposes. . The training of these persons could be provided by the FBI, the Military Police, or the locallaw-enfol'cement agencies,

The funding 6f such a patrol could be pl:ovided by the Administra­tion on Aging, LEAA, or even the OETA program. They could estab­lish pilot projects in various neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, until they could se~ that it is somewhat of a deterrent against crime against the elderly, and then seek major support for these kinds of patrol groups.

r agree with YOtl that these patrol groups should be community­bilsed Itlld should have an advjsory council of some type so that they could get advice in terms of their activities.

Mr. RO'tBAIJ. We thank you very much for YOUT recommendation . ..t\-g!l,11l,as 'a point of dlllrification, did .1 un~erstand you to sa,y that the CIVllmlt"patrol would be composed 1>1'lmarlly of retlred policemen'~

Mr. DUARTE. No, no. I th,ink someone '.I11entionedthrut there are re­th'ed profeSSional, p~ople. No; my Pl:oposal is that retired people could bo selected as candld'ates for these Jobs. It could be young people. It ICould be anyone, but not entirely .retired policemen.

Mr. ROYBAL. If a l'etired person was assigned to do this kind of w.()rk it would requh'e a great deal of training if 'he has never had ,it. Also, l1ge kind of creeps up on you, 'and there are many things that we used to do whell w~ were younger that we can't do now that we are a. little older.

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How would such a 'project he financed ~ 'Vo~lld that be Qll a pilot-project basis, fl.nanced by the Federal Government ~ ,

Mr. DU.\RTE. I suggested Administration on Aging funds. I think Mr. Glassman mentioned section 308 funds. These funds are for dnno­vative ap~oaches, which could meananyt11ing, and tIllS could be ani innovative kind of approach to deter c·rime.

I remember when I was in the Army, we had a civilian patrol for our -own 801(1.ier8 who often Were either inebl'lated or were causing problems ill the towllsand cities. The civilian pab'01s were militUiry personnel, but they weren't Military Police, ·and they enforced regula­tions on their own.

On the other hand, there is tL civilian pat-rol-u, volunt-al'Y group of people, that have oitizen band radios in theil.' cars, They have identifi­cation cUirds, and theyrure in the neighbOl:hoods. They help the local :police and the law-enforcement agencies, not in controlling crowds, but III heloping with traffi,c congestion whenever there is -a fire or a major ac­cident. They are providing volunteer help.

But I am not saying that these people should he volunteers. They should be paid help, with funds from LEAA 01' the Actmil1ist;ration on Aging, or even the OETA program,

Mr. ROYBAL. Yes. They would then be, in effect, ·professional people who would be doing this work. .

Mr. DtTARTE. Right. Mr. ROYBAL. People would be trained for that purpose and follow

a specific progrUim. M'l'. DUARTE. Yes. Mr. ROYBAL. Well, you haNe presented an interesting (':<>ncept; .oM

that the subcommibtee can ex·amine and will. May I thank you again for your .recommendations.

Mr. DUARTE. Thank you. Mr, ROYBAL. Th~ next witness ~s Mr. Rodman Cahen. Mr. Oohen,

wil~ you please conie forward and proceed in tLlly way tp.at you may deSIre. .

STATEMENT OF RODMAN COHEN

Mr. OOJ-IEN. I am not l1. victim of a crime, but I think that I mn,y have the beginning of a positive solution to the problem . . ~bout a month ago; r became interested in an organization of senior

CltIzens~ and young people, that is called the Gl'ey Panthers. Through legislation or other means, they try to improve the lot of young people, as well as old people.

We had a meeting, at which time the city of Los Angeles-being so dispersed-was bl'Qken down into sinal! localized community Q groups. I joined one of these groups. 'Ve talked about what OUr COll)- 0

munit.y reaJly needs, and I have been thinking for quite some time that one of the chief things that we need is to get people involved and ,c;>ut I)'

on the streets. All the citizens of the city of I~os Angeles have, in ~ft'ec~\ [<

forfeited their righ;~ to walk the streets of the city of Los AngeM;JQ th~ muggers, without a shot being fired. ., "'''

I think that it is time that the citizenry become aro\lsecl and becoine aware of the fact that they have :forfeited the tight to be on the streets, Oitizens must get out and not be afraid tel walk the streets.

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I am in the process now of soliciting support for a walkout, an old­fashioned, community walk, which will start hopefully in April of 1977.

We planned originally on making it this month, but the daylight hours are short, and in order for this walk to be a success, it has to be performed in daylight hours. The people have to be visible to other people, to see that they are, in effect, walking.

We had proposalR that they should walk in a certain area to show that they are all walking. But that wouldn't be good, because if some­one walles in someone el~e's area other than where they live it. is not going to do ,them any good. They have to walk where they live, and we feel that IS the best way.

I have spoken to Police Chief Davis' office, via his secretary. and he instructed Deputy Police Chief Rock to call me. I gave him my ideas on the walk. I have spoken to Mr. Roy Azarnoff, who is in the office of aging of the mayor's office, and I have given him a letter stating the purposes of getting the people out to walk. I have spoken to Zev Yar­oslavsky's office, and Councilman Edelman's office and several other persons that are on th~ city council. I am now currently trying to mo­bilize the various religious groups, through the heads of these religious bodies, to get people interested in the walk.

This walk would be a positive step. All these other proposals that we are listening to here are negative and physical. This is something which every citizen can become involved in, because he has n, stake in walking tlie streets. He doesn't want to go to work and then come homA and be trapped as;] prisoner in his own home, or a prisoner of the "boob tube." He would like to get out and socia.lize and take part in the community.

That is the way it was in the good old days. But today, we have to reeducate people'to become involved in the process of the community. The people WllO would be unable to participate in the walk, because of physical conditions would also be involved. They could be in the block watch program, to see that while the walks are being done, their houses are not being burglarized.

It would get people helping people. That is what the whole thing is about, because that is the solution to Ollr problems. Take W"estwood Village. On a weekend, you can hardly walk on the streets, because it is so crowded. Why is it that the people 'will walk in the evening in West­wood Village, and they will not walk anyplace else ~ Becallse people see other people, and when they feel other people's presence, they feel safe. The incidl}nce of crime in vYestwood Village, even on Saturdays and Sundays ",11en the streets are jammed is very small.

I was talking to Deputy Police Chief Rock, and I told him that the security for this type of a program would have to be on a very low profile because the people have to feel that they, in effect, did malte the march. They have to walk in groups, neighbor with neighbor. As other people see thetn walking, they will all want to walk. But it has to l1ave a total conlmitment from the entire community-the Boy Sco_uts, Girl Scouts, church groups, veterans groups, the business community, everybody. They all have to become aware, and we all have to partici­pate in this walk, because we aU have a stake in it.

M},'. Ron'lL. Mr. Coh(>n, you mentioned in your presentation, "the good old days." "Well, I happen to remember the good old days, also, when, in my own neighborhood, in my own home, our family never

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carried any keys. It is true. There were eight of us in the family. 'Ve didn't have a key to the house. The house was open. 'Whenever we went anyplace we just told the neighbor we were leaving and to look aftel.' the house. Nothing ever happened. Now, those were the good old days.

The situation has changed a great deal. We are seeking means and ways of ~rying to remedy the situation. You.have presented to this subcommIttee one concept.

I would like to ask what the reaction was to your proposal from Deputy Ohief of Police Rock. 'What did he say ~

Mr. OOHEN. He ;vas,very enthusiastic. Everybody thatI have spoken to was very enthusIastIc.

Mr. ROYnAL. Has your program been written up ~ Mr. COHEN . No ~ it hasn't been.

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Mr, ROYBAL. Will you put it in writing, and we will take it look at it ~ I would like to have the format of your program, if it is possible, so

that we can take a good look at it. . Mr. COJ:rEN. All right.

<:Mr. ROYBAL. Can you make that available to this subcommittee ~ Mr. COHEN. I sure can. The elderly citizen feels rejected and un~

needed. He thinks no one really cares, but that is not really the case. One of the members of the audience here is a person who is youn~,

and who is also in my group of Grey Panthers. He is interested III the walk, and we h8:l'"e mobilized our area groups of Grey Panthers. We are having a meeting next Wednesday, September 22, at 8 p.m. at the Westwood Horizons Hotel, for the first gathering of tIle Western Area Grey ~anthers., and we are going to take up tne walk. .

I would like to mtroduce you to a. young person who IS very knowledgeable on crime, He is in the audience now.

Mr. ROYBAL. If he llas any new information to present to liS, we will behappy to have him do so.

Mr. COREN. He has left. Mr. ROYBAL. Well, in that case, Mr. Oohen, will you then make

available to the subcommittee the written text of your proposal, so that we can closelv examine it~.

Mr. OOHEN. I will do that. Thank you. Mr. ROYBf\L. Thank you very much. The next witness is Elizabeth P. Tesluck. Go ahead and proceed. Mrs. TESLUOK. All right. . Mr. ROYBAL. Tell us what happened to you.

STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH P. T:ESLUCK

Mrs. TESLUOK. In the middle of May, I was walking up South 7th Street with a shopping cart, the kind that they have in the stores. It was a warm day, and It was only 5 o'clock. Q

As I was continuing up the hill, I felt somebody grnb a Pat't of my anatomy. When I turned around, I saw a man in white'trousers and a tight-fitting black sweater. I think this is what discouraged him. I never leav~ the house without it. [Indicating a whistle. worn on the right-hand wrist.] .

He must have tead in the paper where our police department claimed that a woman in Pasadena saved her Ut~ by having the presence of mind to blow the police whistle.-- - "

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When I turned around, he slowly walked away. It was near an alley, and I couldn't see his face, but he had a certain way of walk­,ing, I thought he was a painter, because he was wearing white trous­ers. I was going to go to the house on t,he corner, t,hmking that I could ask them where I could get, a painter. It was 5 o'clock.

When I wanted to stop the shopping cart, I couldn't, because it was sliding toward an expensive, new car, and I didn't want to be accused of wrecking it. But I decided that I would come the next day, and the next Saturday, and face him and be ready for him, but I didn't have to do it.

I kept on walking on my side of the street. Between the last two It:

houses is an alley, and as I was approaching the last two houses, he walks right up facing me. He didn't think that I would recognize 1Jim, or that I would follow him. I didn't follow him. Then, I had a good look at him, and I saw lim cross the street into an alley. It was #

the last alley of South Berendo and 8th Street. I decided to follow him and see where he was going. As I followed

him, I could see.at the end of the alley what looked to me like an old cottage that people used t? rent before an apartment house was built there. I thought pel'haps that is where he lives, so I kept on following him in the alley. .

There were people coming and going, and I wasn't afraid, I was determined to get a hold of him some way, because he was, I thought, one of the famous rapists of the Wilshire district.

And then, as I was about to come nearer to him, a big truck pulled in front of me. When I came up a little bit fu!;ther, I saw it wasn't a real cottage. It was an old garage, and I thought that maybe he lives in the garage, because he is afraid to live someplace else.

And then the big truck came, and I lost sight of him, and there was more movement. Automobiles were coming in and going out, and I lost him, so I had to wait. I decided I would wait until next Saturday or the next day. I would go every day with one of those carts until I got him, but I didn't have to do it: ..

That night, I caned the police. I told them wl~at had occurred, and that I thought it was one of the Wilshire rapists. They came over and told me that the description I gave them of that character was th~ person they were looking for and that he has committed s~veral crimes. 'l'hey asked me SOme more questions, and I answered them. Then they • came and told me that that man was apprehended the next morning at 11 o'clock.

On the third visit from the police, I had six pictures to identify him from .. I had no trouble because I took a good look at him. He 'faced .... ,)11C w1,len he walked out the alley, a,nd I showed them that this is the persot, and two,~ther women \vho were hurt identified him, too, as that person who(~, (onged them.

And then we \Vent to the lineup, and I recognized him there. Then we went to the district Il.ttorney's office, and they switched the photo­graphs on me. I suppose it was his attorney. For No.3, they had a much older mall, becaltse before, his number was No.3, but I said these pho­tographs weI'(~ switched. The judge said, "Do you see the man here in COUl't~" I said, "Yes, there he is sitting." I recognized him, because he had a tight-fitting sweater which showed curves, and it is unusu~l for a man to have CUI'ves. He was the one that attracted my attentlOn. I

,)1ad to identify him. I wasn't going to let him get a way. . ~,~

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Now, we are waiting for the case jn court early next month. I don't want to specify the day, for reasons of my own. tVe are going to court.

The judge said he was impressed with my testimony, and so did two members of the police department. I hope I have d!3prived the Wilshire district of at least one rapist. There were five. 'When they went to arrest the one that I had encountered, they f()Und him in the company of five

. others, and I hope that justice will be done. Mr. ROYBAL. Well, thank you very much. I can well understand why

the judge was impressed. Mr. Hammerschmidt.

• Mr. HA1\Il\IERSCHMIDT. Well, I want to thank our very eloquent wit­ness. Thank you very much.

Mr. ROYBAL. I am sure that the police department will have no trouble with identification in this instance.

OJ

Sister, will you please find out whethe).· or not the assailant in this case is out on bail, or is he in jail ~

Mrs. 'rESLUOK. I think he 'is in jail, but I passed by a balcony in that neighborhood, and I thought it may be he, but I am not sure. I couldn't say. .

Mr .. ROYBAL. ,VeIl, let us hope that he is in jail and will be present when you face the judge for :further identification.

The next witness is Ethel DuVernay. ,Vill you proceed, Mrs. DuVernay.

STATEMENT OF ETHEL DuVERNAY

Mrs. Du V.ERNAY. Uy name is Ethel DuVernay. This happened about 3 years ago. It was in the morning at about 9 :30. I had a little check to cash, and I had gone to the store and cashed the check, but I had $50 left.

So on my way home~ 1 had some packap:es I bought from the store, and I had a purse with a handle. I had the purse on my arm and I had a bag there and a bag; here. I was just a block from l1ome~ and there were two young kids, almost 14 years old. I thollght they were goiIl;g to school because of the way they were dressed. So they were comlhg toward me, and when they got close to me, they opened up. And when they opened like that, they said, "Give me the purse," and I started to scream, and the other one was grabbing the purse and sort of hurt my hand. I guess I was more frightened than anything.

When I screamed, they started running. I dropped all my packages, but they had taken thep~rse. One of the neip-hbors came out. It seemed like him and his wife we~e going to· work. He said, "Mrs. DuVernay, we don't lmow why they worry you." . . n

Now, we all pun around here, so he told his wife, "I am going to go and see," and so he started running. He jumped out of the cal', and he started running, but he never could catch them. The pOlicemen came, and they took me around, but it llappened so :fast, and r was awfully nervous, and I couldn't identifv them. But a couple of blocks from there; they found my purse, and I recovered a gas bill attd a utility hill. The money wasn't there. But everything else was in there. My keys were there. I was so glad, becMlse I didn't have any key to get back into tIle house. .. .. ..

Two years after that at about 12 :30 at night this happened: J liVe alone, and I work :for the Head Start program. I always stay up late at night and get the 11 o'clock news. I was sltting there with a little lig"4t

72

on the TV, and I heard noise, so I got up. I went to the bedroom, and Ithought there might be somebody in the alley. I live in the back of an alley, so noise doesn't bother me anymore. I just got undressed and went to bed.

And then I heard some more rattling, like that, so I got up and I stood in my bedroom door. I could see a shadow behind my drapes. I thought that maybe it was one of my kids, because sometimes they come around, if they are going to the show. They will come by and see if I am OK.

I didn't see any shadow, or car, or anything, so I went back to the bedroom, and just as I got back into the bedroom, there was a kick­like noise. When I went into the kitchen, my door was kicked open. He broke the lock. The chain saved me, because he didn't kick hard enough to get the chain. The door opened as far as the chain, and I started screaming. When I started screaming, my neighbor came with a searchlight. Just at that time, he was going over the fence.

I know in my purse that first time, I probably had some addresses on old bills, because this last time he seemed to be just around the same age as the first one that attacked me. I called the policeman, but they never did catch him.

Mr. R01."BAL. How old a man was he, in your opinion ~ Mrs. DUVERNAY. It was a young kid. He was about 14 or 15 years

old. Since then, I have moved out of the neighborhood, because my children had me move. They said, "Mommy, you seem to be a mugged person in that neighborhood." That was a bad neighborhood I found out.

Mr. ROYBAL. All right. Thank you very much. Mr. Hammerschmidt, do you have any questions ~ Mr. HAMMERSOHMIDT. No questions. Thank you. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you. The next witness, and we have quite a few witnesses for the short

time that we have left, is Mrs. Margery Ferrier. Marge, you are next.

STATEMENT OF MARGERY FERRIER

Mrs. FERRIER. I have made a prepared statement which I am going to read.

As a resident, property owner, taxpayer and older adult of the city of Los Angeles, I have a vested interest in the well-being and safety of all cit.izens.

This is to you, Congressman Roybal: It was with ~reat interest that I have learned of your concern and involvement WIth the forth­coming crime-prevention program for senior citizens.

Although I am working professionally as the senior citizen co­ordinator for the 10th district of Councilman Dave Cunningham, I am givingthis statement. today:as a private citizen.

From October 1975, through February 1976, I attended three work­shops and sevel;al meetings on crime prevention for senior citizens in J..IOS An~eles. I believe that one workshop would have been sufficient. My obsel'Vation is that these workshops did not accomplish what the publicit.y about them set forth. Something more constructive and effec­tive is needed.

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The fear of personal attack is an ever-present concern of many older people. It has caused many to become boxed in or re.cluses.

Flip Reade, teaching self-defense on Peppm,'dme and other cam­puses, was called in by a convent to .teach ~he nuns sel~-d~fense. He worked out a program geared tol:;hmr specIal setup. Wltll1n the last year, Mr. B,eade developed a p~ogrant for ol~er m~n an~ women, to help them achieve awareness and confidenc~ III copmg wlth the fear and threat of personal attack. He offers psychological and physical training ges,red to their particular makeup and capacity. He is con­tinuing to enlarge and refine this program in response to requests from various community agencies and groups. .

I would like to recommend that your subr..ommlttee explore Mr. Reade's program as a positive means of coping with the escalating violence, especially against the elderly.

Thank you very much. Mr. ROYBAL. ·Will you please rema,in just a moment ~ I would like

to find out more about Mr. Reade's program. 'Vhere is it being given or implemented, and where call we get a copy of his program?

Mrs. FERRIER. Mr. Reade gave it a~ the Beverlywood Senior Citi­·zen's Center, which is at 18th and FigueI.'oa, in Mr. Yaroslavsky's dis­trict. He is giving in-training for Mrs. DeMartinez, who is with the gerontology and adult education division of the board of education, on Octobei· 2d, and I would be glad to get information on it and forward it to you.

Mr. ROYBAL. ""Ve would like to have that, because we have had con-flicting testimony with regard to the teaching of karate, for example.

Mrs. FERRIER. This is not karate. Mr. ROYJ}AL. ""VeIl, a form ofself-defense. Mrs. FERRIER. There is a. great deal of reinforcement and self-aware­

ness. I think people can be boxed in from fear, and a lot of people are not aware of what is going on. I will be happy to furnish it to YO\!.

Mr. ROXBAL. ""Vell, I agree that a course can be given in which you teach the individual self-assurance, A:nd things of that kind. But I am not cOllvinced yet that a seH-defense program for senior citizens is the answer. This is, why I am interested in getting a copy of the pro­posal-to see what It really doeS do. ~r~, FER~R. And also, I neglected to say that as the program is

envIsIoned, It would encompass law-enforcement and work closely with them. I think that is an important aspect.

Mr. ROXBAL. Ma,rgie, you 'and I have heenassociated in one way or anothei' f?r ~he last, ,1 would s!l'y, ~8 years. !V e ha.ve worked to~ether.~ the comrpulllty serVIce orgall1ZatlOn, and m VWl'lOUS commulllty proJ' ects. Vel'y truthfully, I thought I would never see the day when both you and I would have to agree that we are senior oitizens.

Ms. FERRIER, Thank you. It is really wonderful to see yon here, lAnd I 'am so glad that you are involved in it.

Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you very much. All Tight. The next witness is Dolores Stroud. WHl you proceed.

" STATEMENT OF DOLORES STROUD

Ms. STROUD. My purse was snatched November 24th, 1975, and I re­ported this to the policeman. He told me to check with the investigator, and I did jus~ that. They never came up with anything. I caHell Mr.

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Berry on the 5th of April and told him I saw Jo-Ellen Brown with a picture of the boy who snatched my purse.

They never got 'a'round to questioning her, but I think the FBI did, 'because some of my GOVeT1lmentbonds had been forged. He came to my door, and I told him, and so he said there was no problem. I t~)ld him thif! was w'here the boy would fit in. He didn't live with her, and he said there was no problem, so I '111m sure he had not questioned her.

But they finally questioned her August the 19th, and she came out there. She wanted to confront me, but I think she is mistaken. I don't think they have cleared.j,t up yet. There was more than $200 cash in my purse. That is what I lost, but the bonds and the bankbook were given back to me. I had-a valuable watch and a Parker pen, and my birth­stone ring. All of my v-aluables, plus important pa.pers were taken.

And then,aiter I lost my purse, I said, "Well, I am going to check this.bill that Mr. Yenzig Lai gave me before he died." I helped him a lot, -and he told me of flying a plane,and the Chinese people wanted him to go to China to train the young men, and I was looking for old coins. He went into the badToom and brought this out and gave it to me. He gave me a strongbox to put it in and a key. It was in my trunk. It was locked in this strongbox,and they opened my Drunk that was locked.

When I went to look for it, I found out that they stole it and -n little brown button tha.t goes with ,it, which was his open door to China. He gave it to me because he didn't want his daughter to .go over there. He said he wouldn't give up his .\merican citizenship.

They go into mvapartlffient; they go into my trunk; they 'have stolen material; they steal thread; 'and they steal needles. All of this stuff is very vital to me. They just use me for a supply house.

Mr. ROYBAL. All right. Did you report any of this to the police department ~

Ms. STROUD. YtlS; and the policeman came one day, and I told him that someone had stolen a dress. It was a new dress. I looked in my closet, and came back. Someone had worn it and ruined it and brought it back, and I told the policeman about that. He said: "Don't you th~nk it is about time for you to move~" I said: "Move where ~ Is the city fit t? live in~" And so then they didn't say anything more about mOVl11g.

Mr. ROYBAL. All right. We thank you very much. The next witness is'Alice Richardson.

STATEMENT OF ALICE RICHARDSON

Mrs. RIOHARDSON. My 110me has been broken into. I haven't slept in that home for about 3' years. I used to sleep in the front house with mv friend, because the 'little house to the rear is between two aneys, one alley to the back and one to the side. ,

I woulq never stay ill the house in the daytim.e, because everybody wa~ workl11g. So I ",,:ould go over to my qther frIend's house and stay untll about 4: 30, untIl I thought somebody was home.

One evening I came in, and .I opened the door. Just as I opened my front door, I noticed everything was scattered on the floor. I didn't go in. I yelled to my friend: "Somebody has been in my home." She called to her husband; alld he ",vent in. He went to the kitchen. There.

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was a French back door and a French front door. They broke the glass and got in, but they didn't take anything, because they were searching for money, I guess.

I didn't know the number of the police. I did call bunco, because they have been here one time ancl gave me a number to call. I caned them, and they gave me It number to call the police.

Well, they came right away, and they looked aro1md. I had the TV. They didl1't take the TV bec!1use everything I had was disconnected. They might have thought tllat it was broken, because whenever I leave the house, I will disconnect everything, except the refrigerator.

They told me that they hadn't talmh anything, and that was that. MI'. RoYBAr... What time of the day did all of this happen ~ Mrs. RIOHARDSON. It must have been during the day, because it was

about 4:: 30 when I arrived horne. Everybody was working, you seB. Because I never did stay in the house by myself.

Mr. ROYBA.L. Thank you, Mrs. Richardson. Mr. Hammerschmidt. Mr. HAM:MERScHMIDT. I donlt have any questions, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. 1

Mr. ROYBA.L. Maria Elena Chavoya.

STATEMENT OF MARIA ELENA OHAVOYA

[Whereupon, Mrs, Maria Elena Chavoya presented a statement in Spanish. J

[Whereupon, Mr. Garza presented the following transllltion of Mrs. Ohavoya's testimony:]

Mr. GARZA. She IS here representing the Santo Domingo commun­ity. She is urgin~ that they' receive more police patrols, and she recommends "diat If the police department does not have the funds to do this, they should apply for Feaeral funds.

She goes on fUI~ther to state that there is a great fear by the elderly of being victimized. The elderly a~-e afraid to leave their homes in the evening due to what they consider a lack of police patrol. She is urging a closer l'elationship between the community and the police department. i~S a matter of fact, she is calling for some type of meet~ ing where they can begin to develop some type of closer relationship. with the police department.

She went on to describe that she was robbed twice at her horne. One time, a master key was used to break in, and the second time they broke the window.

:or- Mr. ROYBAL. This testimony concerning a closer relationship bet-ween the community and the police department is made at every hearing that we have. What is actultlly meant is tl1at they want closer cooperation between the police department and the senior citizens. The word "community" is constantly used, but then when we talk

D to the senior citizen individually, tl1ey feel that that cooperation should G be directed to the senior citizen population and to the val'iolls senior

citizen community organizations.

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I am sure that it IS not the only desire on the part of senIor citi­zens, but it is the one that they think is the most important, if some of these problems are ever to be solved. . .

:00 you have any questions, Mr. HarhmersQhmidt i • c

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Mr. HAMlIIERSOHMIDT. [replies in Spanish]. No questions. Mr. RoYBAL. Thank you very much. Lillian Mitchell. Is there anything you would like to say, Mrs.

Mitchell~ STATEMENT OF LILLIAN MITCHELL

Mrs. MITCHELL. I was attacked twice, about 2 months ago. I was coming home from the City College, walking down Heliotro,Pe to Santa Monica Boulevard, and I wanted to get something for dmner. It was only 5 o'clock, and I took a shortcut through a parking lot there, and someone hit me on the back of my head, and I went down. My head hit the cement and caused a big laceration, and I didn't know anything .

.A lady put something under my head and called the ambulance. They took me to the emergency room at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, and I was there for 2 weeks. Then they put me in a con­valescent home for 2 weeks, and I am still suffering in my head and neck. '

The other time was about 3 years ago. I was waiting for a bus on Santa Monica and Vermont, or Santa Monica and Gower, going to a lecture about 7 o'clock in the evening. It was still light. It was kind of an isolated corner. The carwash was closed, the cemetery is on one corner, and the body shop was closed. I was looking to see if the bus was coming.

This man must have been driving by and saw me alone on that cor­ner. He turned on Gower and gr'abbed me from the back, pinned my arms down" turned me around and shook me up. I had had surgery recently, and I was afraid he was going to hurt me. I pushed him away, and he got so mad. He already had my purse. He took me and threw me down, kicked me, and took my head and hit it on the side­walk. I was hospitalized for a long time.

Just recently, I was in Ralph's Store with a cart. I am a little groggy yet from all this, and I was just going down the aisle with my cart and my purse was on the side. Two little Negro boys, one about that hip;h rindicating], and one about that high [indicating], about 10, said: "What are you looking for, madam ~ What are you looking fod" I said: "I am looking for the raisins." "Oh, come here, I will show you." He Irot my attention to' look, and the other kid took the purse and ran. The store couldn't do anything. The manager said: "Well, what can we do ~ They are gone."

That was the third·time. Mr. RO'l."'BAJJ. WeU, thank you very much for your testimony. Is R. C. McConnell present ~ L. R. C. McConnell. Will you proceed,

Mr. McConnell.

STATEMENT OF L. R. C. McCONNELL

Mr. MOCONNELL. What do you want me to talk about ~ Mr. ROYBAL. W' ould you tell us what has ha-ppened to you. Mr. MCCONNELL. Well, at the Cortez Hotel. I .was robbed about

quarter of 6. All I saw of the man was his bald head from the back I couldn't identify him, but a lady up the st·reet saw the man pass by. She said she never saw him before, so how could you do anything such as that ~

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Mr. ROYBAL. Was she afraid, then, to identify him ~ Mr. MOCONNELL. I presume that she was. Mr. ROYBAL. Did this happen in your hotel room, or was it in the

lobby? Mr. MOCONNELL. In my hotel room. They took my pants, my money,

$225, and they took my papers. My bus stuff was found up in San Francisco.

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, do they have any security of any kind at that hotel ~

Mr. MOCONNELL. None at all, that I can see. Now, Rampart did put one man, or two men out there, and the State put a man there, too, but you never see them, SO you don't know.

They have a bar there. I think that is your biggest problem, and about 2, 3, 4 o'clock, they are lingering around. ..

!hey are also st~aling batteries out in the parking lot, and theJt are usmg that as a prIVy, also. What you can do, or what you can't do, is something else. It is turned into several agencies.

Mr. ROYBAL. Yes. Now, you have made a report of all of this to the authorities ~

Mr. MCCONNELL. Yes. Mr. ROYBAL. Do you have any questions, Mr. Hammerschmidt? Mr. HAMMERSOHlIIDT. Are tllere mostly older citizens where you live,

or is there a mixed clientele ~ }fIr. MCCONNELL. It is a mixed type. The older citizens have to take

what they can. Mr. HAl\{MERSOHl\IIDT. Do they prey on the elderly niore than on the

other people ~ Mr. MOCONNELL. "Well, I don't know. I don't mingle with them, so

I go and come as I please. Mr. HAMl\tERSOHl\{IDT. Thank you very much. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank yo-a very much .

. Is Emma Rolzberger present? All right. Will you just speak into the microphone.

STATEMENT- OF EMMA HOLZBERGER " Mrs. HOLZBERGER. On March 5, I walked to the store and carried my

pocketbook at 1 o'clock in the afte1-·noon. From behind me cam~ Ii young teenager, about 14: to 15 years old, and he grabbed my pocket­book, and I fell dmm, and 1, broke my wrist. I had a big operation here. They 1?ut all the bones together, and I had a fi'acture on my pelvis, so I was m the hospital 4 weeks. Now I can walk a little better, andjust get al'ound a little bit.

He stole my pocketbook. He took my. money out-I had $25 in a checkhdok. He took my key, and everythmg. After that, I went to the Westwood Hospital, because I couldn't walk. A lady found my pocket~ book in a ditch on Wilton Avenue and Melrose, where I live. She saw the car with three young teenagers, who were all white. But she couldn't get the license plate number because she was so excited. She brought my pocketbook to the police station, and my friend picked it up. My key was in it and my bankbook, and everything, but my money was gone. ' .

MI'. ROYBAL. Now, what timc-,of the day did this happell ~ , Mrs. HOLZBF,RGER. It was 1 o'clock in the afternoon on March 5. I

didn't heal' him coming. He caliie from the back, and he grabbed my P!1cketbook like this. il

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Mr. ROYBAL. And that was March 5 of this year~ Mrs. HOLZBERGER. Yes; this year. Mr. ROYBAL. This last March that just passed? Mrs. HOLZBEItGER. Yes; and the police came in a minute, because 5

minutes before my accident, they robbed another elderly lady. We both came in the same hospital together, and she broke her shoulder. I was in a cast longer because I couldn't walk. I had to learn to walk, and r am 85 years old.

Never in my life have I been in the hospital. I never was sick. I s~ill swim today, and this is the only accident that has happened in my hie.

Mr. ROYBAL. Are you saying that you still swim today? Mrs. HOLZBE~GER. Yes; I still swim today. Mr. ROYBAL. You do this every day? Mrs. HOLZBERGER. I am a good swimmer. Yes; I only want to men­

tion it, because my bones are very strong, you know, but he knocked me down. I have 10 stitches here. The doctor put four pins in it. I had a very good doctor.

Mi .. ROYBAL. Well, for the young peoJ?le that are here, I think they ought to take note of the fact that here IS a lady 85 years old and still swims eyery day.

Mrs. HOLZBERGER. Yes; and I am still working. I work as a volun-teer in the senior citizen center down on Lafayette Park.

Mr. ROYBAl,. Well, we thank you very much for your testimony. Mr. Hammerschmidt, do you have any questions ~ Mr. HAlII:MERSCHlIIIDT. I don't have any questions. ""Te appreciate

very much your testifying. ~~,l'S. HOY,ZBEHGER. That is a report on the crim!:l. Mr. ROYBAL. All right. I will take that and submit it for the record. Mrs. HOJ,ZBEUOEH. I would like it back. Mr. ROYBAL. 'l'he next witness, and probably the last, is Lieutenant

Mossman, of the LAPD. We will have one more testify after the Lieutenant completes his testimony.

Will you proceed, Lielttenant.

STATEMENT OF LT. WILLIAM MOSSMAN, BUNCO SECTION, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT

Lt. MOSS:MAN. 'l'hank you. My name is Lt. William Mossman. I am the officer in charge of the bunco section for the Los Angeles Police Department.

I would like to comment just briefly on the fact that you had It

previous witness who testifiecl that she 'had not reported the crime to the police depal'tment. I belieye it was a pickpurse-type crime that occurred in the downtown area. Unfortunately, it is a tragic case that. we heal.' rl.aily of people who have not reported those types of crimes to thn police department.

For this subcommittee's information, we have a fulltime pickpocket t.eam working undercover in the downtown Los Angeles a.rea. They work the bus stops where our elderly people are frequently the victims of this type of crime, because they haye to rely on public transporta­tion, and because they are l'estrictecl to shopping'in the downtown area.

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The Los Angeles Police Department enjoys probably one of the lowest crime rates in pickpocket-pickpmsc-type activity, I think, be­cause of our aggressive enforcement action in that area.

I would like to read just ·a brief page or two, and then comment further.

The bunco forgery division of the Los Angeles Police Department currently has citywide responsibHity :for the investigation of many crimes of theft committed by means of false pretense, trick ancl device.

Within this category are included most confidence schemes, which ex­perience has proven a.flect many of our senior cit.izens.

Although each ·and everyone of us !is a potential victim of the crafty salesmen or conJidence men, our investigatiorts ha.ve revealed that many fraudulent schemes are directed toward the elderly. .

In certain respects, a crime against ·an older person may be consid­ered simply as if it were ·a. crime a,gainst a person i)f any age, and in­dee,d, this has traditionally been the case within the criminal justice system: However, there ·a;ppears to be a growing recognition that there is a distinctiveness about crimes against the elderly, and that when con­sidered ·broadly in teTms of physica.l, economic, social and psychologi­cal ~mpact, these crimes witrrant treatment as special o.ategories.

Our (lase history 'has deteDmined that singling out the elderly victim from the general 'popUlation for special attention can be summarized, as follows: .

There is ·a growing experience that older persons are" partiCUlarly suscepbibls to fraud. 'and conJidence schemes. Older people are more likely to live alone ill social isolation which increases vulnerabiHty to crime.

Potential criminals are aware of the diminished mental capacity '11nd the physical vulnerability of the elderly, and are thus more likely to seek out the elderly target.

Dependency on walking or public transportation is mare Hkely among older persons who, ror physical, financial 01' other reasons, are less likely to drive or own their own vehicle. This exposure to ·public view makes the elderly an ~asy target far the confidence map.

Elderly p~ople are less lIkely to report crimes to the pohce depart­ment because of embarrassment or fea.l' of being involved in an illegal act themselves.

The elderly are more often lonely, starved for friendsbdp ~Jld easily excited. Seniors frequently suffer from diminished hear.iilg~ eyesight, memory and, hence, ,n.re ineffective witne~~es in court. (.

The elderly are home more during daylight hOUTS. Frequently, they are more susceptible to the confidence man that works f·rom door to door, despite OUI' public 'n,wareness programs.

We speak at many senior citizens meetings. A senior is no diff~rent than the average person. They will not accept the fact tha.t they can be the victim of a confidence man. They will not accept the fact that a good, salesman can sell them .n, ·product they really never wanted in the first pIa.ce. That is human nature, I believe, and I don~t bel·ieve it <is a problem we will ever be able to overoome. .

I have a list of crimes ll(~re. but I '\~on't go into detail, becituse :r am sure your subcommittee willluive heard them several times before. There is the pigeon drop,. the bank examiner, the fraudulent social security medicare or mediCal representative, the police imperaonator,

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'the Latin charity switch (which victimizes ou~L!ltin-American com­munity), the pickpocket-pickpurse (whom we have heard testimony here of today) , the home repair schemes (our famous ·Williamson gang oPGra~s throughout the city yearly), and something you haveprob­ably Y .. eard very little of-the fortune teller. After gaining the con­fidence of an older person who might have lost every bit of hope for medical recovery from a serious illness, the fortune teller will drain every bit of money that person might 11ave, making the elderly per­son think that they can cure this person's ills. It is a tragic situation.

W·e still believe public awareness programs are the greatest deter­rent to this type of crime.

No matter how many uniformed officers you put on the street, no matt{3r how many police cars you put on the street, they will have no effect on this type of crime. The greatest deterrent, in our opinion, is education and more training fOl' the public. This is something you will never be able to measure.

r don't think you are going to be able to measure the effect of public awareness programs when it comes to fraud. It is just something that will have to be done, despite whether you can prove its effectiveness ornot.

I have one last thing regarding proposed legislation. I have heard. several things regarding victim as..c;istunce programs. I very seldom have heard something like this. Our investigations have revealed that it is common for an elderly person to lose thousands of dollars when induced by a confidence m:m to withdraw money frpUl their bank account and hand it over to the suspect, which is comm~?;h the pigeon drop and the bank examiner scheme.

In some cases, the loss of money, sometimes an entire life saving, was prevented by the mere inquiry of a bank teller who suspected a crime was in progress.

Although we enjoy the cooperation of many of OUi' banking institU:" tions and savings and loan companies in preventing this type of loss, many banking institutions purposely instruct their employees not to become involved for fear of civil liability.

It is our recommendation that consideration be given to proposing legislation that would relieve banks, and their employees, of the li­ability for making an inquiry, or even temporarily denying a customer the withdrawal of their fuuds if they suspect a crime is in progress. ~t wou!¢1. inyolve simply relieving them of the responsibi.lity for mak­mg an mqmry.

Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. ROYJl\AJJ • Lieutenant, what is the liability at the present time '~ Lieutenant MOSSMAN. Everyone is subject to civil suit. If I have a

deposit with a bank and I go in to withdraw that money. the money belongs to 11;10. If the bank wi.thholds that money, for whatever reason, the bank, the bank employees and the police, if they become involved, are subject to civil suit. .

Mr. ROYBAL. In other words, the individual who has money depos­ited in the bank has complete access to that money on demand'~

Lieutenant MOSSMAN . Yes, sir. Mr. ROYBAL. And what you are saying is that in the event that the

teller suspects that a crirneis in progress and tends to withhold thlLt money, let's say for 24 hours, or whatever the time is, that he not be held liable ~

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,. Lieutenant MOSSMAN. My suggestion does not go to 24 hours. Merely an hour or 30 minutes, until the. police can be called, arrive and talk to that older person !lnd find out why they are witl1drawing the money. At least they should be able to make an inquiry. .

Many tinles, we salvage a person's life savings by merely question­ing them and alerting them to a pigeon drop schelne. I am not talking about 24 hours. I don't think that is practical. I am thinking in terms of 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or an hO\11'.

Mr. ROYBAL. You would suggest that it be no lUore than an hour's time, and that during that time, the police talk to 'the person who was withdrawing the flmds, and then make a final determination ~

Lieutenant MOSSl\fAN. Yes, sir, I have two investigators who ate presently being sued for better than $100,000 for merely making an inquiry of a person who was rightfully asking to take mOl)ey out of the bank. It was a large sum of money and the p~rson was obviously an older person. The investigat?rs should merely be able to as,k for what purpose the mOMY was bcmg used. If they ~lon't get a satnsfac­tory answer, they can alert the pel'son to some oithe schemes that are going on, particitlarly the "pigeon drop" and the hank examiner. It might not be their busine.ss,'.l,s to why that person 11;1 taking the money out. of the bank, and I think a person has that priv!\\cy, but I think we should be. allowed to caution them, without being subjected to civil liability. ,

Mr. ROYBAL. At the present time, even if they j'lSt caution the in­dividual and withhold it just temporarily, they al".e still liable ?

Lieutenant MOSSlfAN. Yes, sir. Under the Financial Code and the Bank Privacy Act, the bank is nmy pro~ected in p:t'oviding finfincial records if a crll11e has been committed. This is in: connection with forgery. The bank is protected from civil liability id'I' providing those records jf there is a criminal illvestigation in progr:.ess. Merely all it does iSJ1l'otect the bank from civil liability. That 18,,.,,11. .

I am asking for somethll~g .similar for banking elnp11yees if they suspect one of these schemes IS 111 progress. '

Mr. ROYBAL. Mr. Hammerschmidt. ' Mr;::.HAlIfMERsGfI1I!IDT. In these confidence schemes, is it difficult to'

get·~ conviction, or :1re the 'ConvilCti?ll ~ates pretty high ~ . L~,auten~nt MOSSMAN. The cOl~vlCtlol1 rate is pretty goqd. The sen-

tenomg mIght not be what we deSIre. . Mr. HA1tI:M:ERSCfIl\IIDT. Do the same people go back into business?

Are th?y repeat offenders ~ 0 Lieuten~,ntl-rmiR1t!A:N. Yes, sir. Confidence people are good salesmen.

Not every crook ~an be a good salesman. Every bQ,lldit ~an pick up a gUll, 'rob a liquor store, steal a woman's purse, 01.' steal a vehicle. But it takes a good salesman to'be a confidence man. If he is not good at that, he will have to get ~nto some other line of business, so there aren't really that -many good confide;nce men when you consHier the elltire criminal element.

Mr. HA}.f.1trERSCJ:I:M:IDT. I don't have any further questions. . MI'. ROYBAL. Lieutenant, one more question. I realize that this is not

part. ·0£ your testimony! but you he~d testimony this afternoon con~ cernmg 0: lot of pq.1.'8e snatching. Now, th~ woman was carrying her purse. It 'IS {lustoma.ry3or a woman to carry her ·purse no matter where

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s'he goes. My wife won't go anyplace unless she has her 'purse, and I suppose that WQmen, an general, are the same way.

Has the police department devised any means, 0'> have they made l'ecommendationsas to what a woman should do to prevent the snatch­

"( inO" of a purse ~ Ij Lieutenant NIOSSlVfAN. Yes, sir, and we pass that on in virtually every

senior meeting we attend. ",Ve advise them to carry it tightly under their 'Ul'l11 with the fla:p toward the inside and,all the valuable articles buried as deep in that 1)urse as possible. Believe me, they can get in

>'\ very, very deeply. Some of those purses >contain an a wfullot of articles, so .bury your valuables-your watch and your money-as deep III that :purse as you can. Oarry:it tuckedundel' yOUl' al'm, rather than dangling from your shoulder, with the flap in toward your body.

Mr. ROYBAL. In the testimony presented this morning, the women were cauying their purses hanging fro111 their arms. That, of course, is something that you do not recommend ~

Lieutenant Mossl\fAN. Yes, si'r. , Mr. ROYB.H,. The recommendation ·of the police department then is

that yon tuck that purse"under your arm, close to your body, and as tightly as possible ~

Li'eutenan!;.n{oSSl\fAN. "l es, sir. In'add'itio:ii, we ask peol)le to be aware of where they are at-if they

are witllin their own home or if they are waU\'ing ina ve1'y quiet area where they would not expect to be 'a, victim of a purse snatch. Be con­scious if you are ina congested or crowded area. If you are at a bus stop downtovi'll oryon are waiting to go into a football game here at the colise~un, wherever it might be, if yon are within a erowded area, be conscIOUS of people around you 'and protect your valuables.

Mr. ROYBAL, Thank you very much, sir. Lieutenant Mossl\[AN. Y8S. ~fr. ROYBAL, B6rnie Stern. 'Will you please proceed.

STATEMENT OF :BERNIE STERN

Mr. STERN. Thank you very much. ,. I was rather elated that~ the young lady 011 the rlght-Iumd SIde

pointed out: a whistle that she always curries with 11(,1\ I woulcllike to make mention of the fact that the bl~ck, plastic police 'whistlcwas u~ed in ID72 hy 117i1shi1'e divisioil, Los Angeles Police Department, WllO, under the direction of Capt. Robert. Tucker, division commanding officcr, and Lt. Bert Dole,· who passed a,\Yay 2 yelll'fi ago of cancer, devised a program with the citizens in the ,Vilshil'e area and called it: "Blow the "'\Vhistle 011 Crime."

"Blow the Whistle on Orime" wws a concept, devised fLlso by members of the American Institute of Public Relations, a1lll1eeting together in 1972 to find some sure-fire way, if possible, where citiz('ns can gej: involved in helping; the police,

On my card you ,vill l,lOtice, Con~l'essman, that I Ita YEl use(~ a s!ate­ment that Ohid of Pollee Ed DaVIS allowed mc to 11se, wInch IS as follows, TOr the andie-nee: "The police department cannot do the job by themselves. Crime pl'eYElntion is a cooperative eiIott,alld without citizen involvement, we can only be haH succ~s$fu1."

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"Blow the Whistle on Crime" is a coneept of' utilizl\.tion of a police whistletl1at]s encouraging citizen awareness and creating comrilunity n.wareness. It is encouraging citizen involvement in the war agrdnst crime by enconraging our 'WOmen citizens to carry their whistle not in their purse, not arollncl their neck whel"e it can be used as a detriment against them, but on their key chain, held in the hancl.

The young)ady also made mention of a WOlllan in Pasadena who had saved herself by utilizing a 'whistle. The article was as, follows:

Pasadenn's "Blow the Whistle on Crime" program has helped a. 51-year-old womnl1 escnpe an attacl,er who. was trying to. rape her_ The woman who WItS assnulted yesterday in a car behind her apnrtment on the 1100 bldcl~ of Orauge Grove Bouleva.rd was carrying the whistle the police department' and service clubs nl'e distributing. When the st1spect enter0d the victim's car and began benting her, she blew her whistle nnd frightenecl lJer attnckeI:;, He :fled with the womau's purse.

There are many other articles similar to that, which I would like to pass on to you, which all lead to one thing: The training or retraining of our citizens, mostly ,vomen,bl1t men, too, to discard the feeling or apathy has got to happen. It started to happellmany years ago when citize~.s began to realize that the police are not the only ones respon~ sible for the prevention and reduction of crime. This is a responsibility that has to be borne by all citizens alike. . ,

"Blow the Whistle, on Crime" is attempting to do what all cl'ime­pr8Yelltion programs areattemptillg to do and that is to lllak~:;~om­munities more aware of crime prevention, and their responsibility as citizens . . ' In :March of this year, the J. O. Penney~Co., collaborating with a local radio station, KFWB, put on a "Blow the "Vhistle on Crime" 1)1'0-

gram folthe entire month of lVIarch. J: C. Peunev stores in two coun­ties, Orange altd Los Angeles County, gave mit the police whistle with a key tab to every citizen that requested one, by coming into" one of their stores, throughout the entire month of March. Some of the people here mi~ht have heal.·~ the public sel:vice. annOlIDcemen-t;.s made by people SUCll as Lloyd BrIdges, .Tames FranClscus, Max Gail of "Barney Miller." Charlton Heston, David Janssen, Hal Linden, Cameron :Mitchell,' !J.11c1 Robert Stack, just to mention it few. It waS a.ll part of a huge two countywide pl~ogranl to blow the, wl1istle 01\ crlme. '

I am here to make you people aware of the fact that there are positive lJl'ograms that the LAPD has illitiatNl and that major corporations throughout the country have illvolv~d thems~lves in. "

To date, "Blow the "Vhistle 011 Crln't(.'." has beell l(l1stalledlll ovel.' 275 cities thl'oughouv-ithe country and :is being sponsored by well over 100 organizations-fl'aternal, commercial, civic, chambers of com-merce, et cetera. , ,~

Lloyd Bcherer, ill an article, tl'lls about "BloW' th~ Whistle 01l0rime-t and talks about the fact that'there are no funds available for police departments to buy whistles to issue them to citizel1s. But I assure you members of the .subcommittee that when you hear something like this, where a \'Vomm of 80 years of age who w.as assaulted,took ont a whistle al1cl ble"\Y it, and she claims : "If it hadn't been rOlf'that 'whistle, I mIght have been killed."; . . , The whistle is liO'li a })anacea, as someone mentiol1ed before"It is not

/F--' a curs-all for crime. In fact, I imagine that 1t there was 'a police ~ . ~ ~ 0

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officer next to every citizen of this country, there would still be crime. But there needs to be training of our citizens to make them aware through seminars, through the local media, through firms that deal with people, to make them more aware of how they, as individual citizens, can collectively help the police by helping themselves.

Mr. ROYBAL. Well, Mr. Stern, have the whistles been approved by the police department as a deterrent to crime ~ , .

Mr. STER'I'. Yes. sir, they certainly have. One of the PSA's,by the way, was Chief Ed Davis. After the whistle blew on the commercial, Chief Ed Davis talked about the whistle concept and "Blow the Whistle Oll! Crime."

Mr. ROYBAL. All right. Just to give us an illustration, will you blow the whistle to see how loud it is ~ ,

Mr. STERN. Yes, sir, I will. [Demonstrates by blo,ying whistle.] Mr. ROYB.H,. 'That carries for a long way. Mr. STERN. A heck of a long way, sir. One ]1eck of a long way. In

fact, if I may tell you about a case 'in 1964, "'hich points out drainati­cally, and quite effectively, the need for citizen involvement.

In March 1964, in Ne,,- York, Kew Gardens, Long Island-by the way, aside from National Director of this criml'-prevention campaign, I am also the whistle supplier and manufacturer-a "'oman by the name of Kitty Genovese. was walking in f~'!mt of her own house at .1 :30 in the morning. Most people who are a,Ya:re of the Kitty Genovese caSA al'e not aware of the actual facts.

She was attacked by a lmife-wieldhlg suspect. She yelled and sCl'eaml'd, and nice, concel'lled citizens like those in this room, onened lip their ,yindows, tlU'ned on their lights and yelled down to the at­tacker. "Leaye that woman alone." He looked np al).d shrugged and ,ya,lkl'd to llis car a half a block 'vay.

'While he was walking to his cal' a half a block away. these nice. concerned citizens turned off their l~ghts and shut their windows and went back to sleep. . . 1Vhen he realized thn.t no help was coming for Kitty, he rot her

again il'. front of her building, and a,qain these nice. concerned citizens turned on their Jil!,hts and opened up their ,yinflows, beCallRl' they lwnrd a womn.n screaming, yelling, and pleading, "Saye me. He is killing me."

This time these lovely people yelled down, "Stop makin,g all that 11oise. It is late." They shut their' windows and turned off their lights and went back to sleep.

The attacker, by this time, shrllgfl'ecl ap-nin, waJked to his en.r, fl'ot into it, and drove 'around the block. POOl' Kitty GpllOyeRe. lookin!! for a p1aee of refuge, fonnd one insine of a vestibule. Up a flight of stall'S \yn.R II. clonr with a man living up above.

",Tell. he didn't see her. He just minded his own business. The attacker Darked 11is enI' a block away and searelled for Kitty. He fOllncl hpr in this vestibule. where he proceeded to rip her clothes, rape her, sta~bl'd her acrain and took off.

vVhen the police were called bv the man up aho,,(='. who rnllrn ppvprnl of his frien<'ls to find out ,,-hat Rholll<'l. he do. all of them snid, "Can the police, you dflmll fool. floml'thing- happened." He finally got on the phone and ealled the police and hung up rather quieklv.

The police arrived within four minutes and found Kitty Genovese alive. On the way to the hospital, she died. After several weeks of

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investigation, they found, much to their horror, that the attack took place over a 35-minute period of time, on three separate occasions, while 38 nice, concerned, interested neighbors watched, and no one did a thing. The most prominent answer was, "I didn't want to get involved," and the second answer was, "I thought somebody else called the police."

I make you aware of the campaign, so that you should know that there are positive. things that are being done by what Police Captain Tucker thought might have been a gimmick at first. But as it is turn­ing out, it is becomlllg the most important crime-prevention tool that the country has ever. seen.

It goes back to the medieval days of the human cry, in the 10th and 11th centuries. )Vhen a crime was being seen by some citizen, the yell was given, and the human. cry was raised, and under N'6rmi1n Law, when the human cry ,,'us raised, every citizell was duty bound to assist in the apprehension of the criminal by voice or by hoI'll. The horn is the forerunner of what the whistle means today: Security find' f~ true cr:ime-prevention tool

MI'. RO~'BAr,. ,Yell, Mr. Stern, WI') thanl~you very much. Mr. S'J'ERN. Ithankyou. '?

Mr. R01.'BAL. Now the last witness to testify is Ms. Nagano. W"i11 YO\l please proceed.

STATEMENT OF OI'TOME NAGANO, OALIFORNIA STATE OFFIC~ . ON AGING

Ms. NAGANO. I am Ottome Nagano, and I am going to read a state­ment that was prepared by Ms. J'anet I£'\ty, who is !the director of the Oalifornia Department of Aging.

Mr. Ro·mAL. ,Vill you proceed. Ms. NAGANO. The California Department of Aging has been inw

volved since May 1975, in It cooperative effort with the California attorney IgeneraI's crime prevention unit to train staff persons of agencies and projects serving the elderlY' in basic techniques of crime prevention and c'onsum<>r protect.ion, and to acquaint them with C0111-munity resources that are avaiiable to persons who have been victim­ized or who believe they have been victimized.

The overall goal of ihis continuing joint effort is to reduce the actual criminal victimization of the elderly' population in California.

The training program is desig:tled with the attorney general's staff mainta~nillg responsibi1ity for the actual training and planning the content, and the California Department of Aging and/or local U;l'ea agen~es on aging ~,s~uming responsibility for site arrangements arid recrUItment of pal,ihclpants. . . '

The California Department of Aging wi1l also be taking the major role in insuring ongoing fonow~up activities by trained staff at their " ~~~ "

Theinitial efforts between the two State agencies resulted in a pilot prol!:ram which was conducted in 1 .. os Angeles. city and county, and resulted in ,six I-day training sessions, in which 230 staff persons throughout the area were trained. 0

. The Los Angeles effort expanded to include extensive media cover­age, and It declaration of February 1976, as "Prevention of Crimes

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Against the Elderly Month." Also, during this period, follow-up train­ing activities were held at project sites throughout the county.

Since the pilot program 11l Los Angeles proved successful, both the California Department of Aging and the attorney general's crime prevention umt officially agreed to proceed with the crune-prevention training program. Orientation meetings have been held for represen­tatives of all of our planning and service areas, and training work­shops either have already been conducted, 01' are in the planning stages in many of the areas.

Our long range goal for this program is to incorporate crime-pre­vention training and consumer information into the ongoin~ actiVIties of the majority of our projects throughout the State. By utIlizing and coordinating trained project staff and local community resources,. we anticipate that training or information sharing sessions can be con­ducted by projects on a l'egnlu1.· basis by empha:;;zing a different phase of the program each session. Additionally, up-to-date information can be maintained by our information and referral staff.

Fear of crime is a major factor in the lives of many of our older citizens and acts effectively to make them prisoners in their own homes.

It is our hope that through the efforts of this program, and the pub­licity and com~nunity support that it has rer.eived, we can develop an awareness in older pe::>ple of some of the crimes and frauds to which they are particularly vulnerable and provide them with some specific tools and techniques for prevention that are available to them.

In this way, perhaps, we cun develop a sense of community crime prevention among older people and a more solid defense against crim­inal elements that may seek to victimize the~.

Thank you. ( Mr. RO'l"BAL. Well, we thank you very much, Ms. Nagano. Do you have any questions, MI'. Hammerschmidt ~ Mr. HAlIUIERSOHMIDT. No; thank you very much. Mr. ROYBAL. W'ell, ladies and gentlemf;~, this completes our hearing. As you know, we have been busy all day. We started early thIS

morning, and it is our intention to take aU of the testimony, put it into a proper form, and then make recommendations to the House of Representatives. ..

There is a similar committee on the Senate side, and they, too, have conducted hearings and will be making recommendations to the Senate.

We will then get together and make combined recommendations, to the Congress as a whole. It also means that each and every member of the committee can make recommendations of his own and can also pl'esent legislation. Each and eygry one of us, no doubt, already have plans for the presentation of legisli.tio~l starting next January.

When the report is completed, we wHi ma1m it available to the vari­ous senior citizen organizations. We will try to get it ready by the end of the year, hoping that everything will be in order for fiMl presen­tation to the Congress next January.

We wish to thanlk each and everyone of YOll for being present this afternoon. We thank those who testified and thank the individuals who are responsible for making this facility available. We need this type of cooperation. I thank you very much. .

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We also wish to thank the Los Angeles Police Department for their presentation. I look forward to working with them toward the solu~ tion of some of these problems. I realize that there is a long w~:v to go yet, but :we must involve ourselves as a commUllity Ilnd its co~~unity people, ill an attempt to solve these problems and cooperatt1' whole­heartedly with the local law enforcement authorities.'

May I thank the gentlen1an from Arkansas, Mr. Hammerschmidt, who incidentally is a long way from home. He took this day off to be with us. I h.ave already welcomed him to my district, introduced him to you, who ai'~ my constituents. He has met quite a few of you. Now he can go back'tiJ';}lis own district and tell tht'm there that he met some very nice peopfe in Los Anrreles.

Mr. HAM1>IERScH:r.nDT. ~fr. Chairman, let me just say to these people, . to you folks, once again, how pleased I am to be in' the district of a man ns hard-working as Ed Roybal; u. man who Ilmow is very com­mitted to findinp; solutions to the needs of elderly citizens, so it is really my pleasure and honor to be with you today. "

Thank you. Mr. Roi"BAL. Thank you very much. The meetinp; is adjourned. [Whereupon, at4 :25 p.m., Saturday, September 18, 1976, the hearing

was adjourned.]

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SELECT COMMITIEE ON ilGING SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND CONSUMER INTERESTS

717 HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING ANNEX 1

fHnsjIlnatoll. :ID.«:. 20515

EX Of'1'lC1O, IICl8 WIL&oH. CAUl".

Mr. Jose S. Garza Staff Director Subcommittee on Housing

and Consumer Interests Select Committee on Aging 717 HOB Annex 411 Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Jose:

(202) 225-2937

November 24, 1976

PATWtelA U.WlltEfICII: wIUe"'maT" ....

The elderly crime victimization hearings held on June ~, 1976, in Washington, D.C. and on September 18, 1976, in Los Angeles, California, should be printed as one volume.

I suggest that we take this course of action because both hearings deal with the personal experiences of elderly crime victims. Further, I was the only member of the Subcommittee present during the t~ashington, D.C. hearing, and otherwise it cannot be printed as a hearing.

ERR/mp

Thank you in advance for your cons'ideration.

Sincerely,

-£'kJ '?'L /( 7--'~

EDWARD R. ROYBAL Chairman Subcommittee on Housing

and Consumer Interea ts

BRIEFING ON ELDERLY CRIME VICTUnZATION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

THURSDAY, JUNE 3,1976

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SunCO:Ml\HTrEE ON HOUSING AND CONSUl\IER, INTERESTS,

SELECT COl\UHTTEE ON AGING, _ WWlhington, D.O.

The subcommittec E:{et, pursuant to notice, at 10 :30 a.m., Senior Citizens Room, Senior Citizens Building, 635 Edgewood Street, N.]}" Washington, D.C., Hon. Edward R. Roybal (chairman or the sub-committee) ,Presiding. ;)

Subco\;nmlttee member present: Representative Roybal or Cali­fornia.

Also present: Delegate "Talter E. Fan1ltroy or Washington, D.C.; and Dr. Booker Yelder, director, Crime Prevention Program, National Program for Black Aged. .

Mr. ROYBAL. Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting of the Subcom­mittee on Housing and Consumer Interests will come to order. Today we are holding the seventh of a series of hearings on criminal victimi­zation of the elderly.

Officials from HUD, private s~nior citizens organizations, the FBI, the La,w Enforcement Assistalice Administration, and local lawen­forcement ap:encies have previously testified before the subcommittee. They have discussed their perceptions (,1£ the problem, provided the subcommittee with data, and evaluated programs they have imple­mented which arc designed to al1eviate the fear of crime as well as the actual incidence of eld~rly victimization.

The members of this subcommittee, however, realize that the input of senior citizens themselves, particularly those who hn.ve been the victims of crime, is a cl'udal component in any investigation of the problem. "

This morning we, will heal' fil'st-hancl from elderly victims of crime in a larp:e llrban city. We want to involve the elderly residents of Washington. D.C., in the formulation or the l('gislative, recommenda­tions this subcommittee will make to the Congress of the United States.

In addition, we will also hear rrom officials' of the District of Colum­billt, from the Washington Metropolitall Police Department and from Delegate Walter E. Fanntl'oy, who will be with i1S sometinw dur-ing the morning. <

It is my'N,)asul'e at this time to welcome 01lt' first witness. Lt. Ken­neth V. Morelan~, Commander. Criminal Imestigation Division of the 'Washington Metropolitan Police. Force. "\'

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Due to the fact we have many witnesses. we would like to ask you to limit your remarks. You may file with the committee any written testimony you may have. We would like to ask you some questions after you have concluded your remarks. 'Will you proceed, then.

STATEMENT OF LT. KENNETH V. MORELAND, COMMANDER, CHECK AND COliSUMER FRAUD SECTION, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION, WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE FORCE; ACCOM-

. PANIED BY DETECTIVE SERGEANT ROBERT ELDRIDGE, DETEC­TIVE SERGEANT DONALD McCATHRAN, AND VERNON GIL, GENERAL COUNSEL, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT

Lt. MORELAND. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for this op­portunity to appear before your subcommittee on the problem o£,the continuing victimization of the elderly.

The Metropolitan Police Departmcnt has for many years been aware of growing concern of the citizens of the District of Columbia llbout the problems of crime against the elderly. As Senator Harrison A .. Williams, Jr., Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging stated in the foreword of the book entitled "The Billion Dollar Swindle; Frauds Against the Elderly," "the Government can, and must, do sevel'al things to step up the fight against quacks and conmen. Most of aU, we need to shed full light on the problem." "Ve agree with Senator Williams and this has been the thrust of our department's attack of the problem.

Appended to my written statement are the Metropolitan Police Department statistics for crimes against persons, 60 andover, for the fiscal years 1974 and 1975 and for the first quarter of calendar years 1975 and 1976. Crimes against persons include. the crimes of: Murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide, rape, attempt rape, sodomy, rob­bery, attempt robbery, pickpocket, purse snatching, aggravated as­sault, assault with hltent to kill and mayhem.

These statistics show that there was' a 15 percent increase in fiscal year 1975 over fiscal year 1974; but we are pleased to report a 13 percent decrease in the first quarter of 1976 as compa,red to 1975 in crimes a.gainst persons 60 andover,

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COMPLAINANTS FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES BY AGE GReUP AND SEX

60 & OVER * 60 & OVER * TOTAL * CLASSHlGATION lstQ1976-1stQ197S )!CHANGE lstQ1976-1stQ1975 %ClIANGE M & F %CllANGE OF OFFENSES' M M F F Ist!i1976~lstgI975

MURDER 1 1 2 1 +100.0 3 :[ +50.0

MANSLAUGHTER

NEGLIGENT HOHICtDE 1 1 1 1

TOTAL 2 +100.0 . 4 3 +33.3 .. ,. RAPE -100.0 -100.0

ATTEMFT RAPE 1 -100.0 1 -100.0

• CARNAl, KNOWLEDGE

ATTEMFT CARNAL KNOWLEDGE·

TOTAL .. ~ -100.0 ;'100.0

SODom

INDECENT ACT -ClIILIl UNIlER 1&

ENTICING CHILD. 0'.

UNiJER 16 FOR !,' IMMORAL PURPOSES

TOTAL

ROBBERY 128 148 -14.2 64 57 +10.5 192 205 :'7.3

ATTEHPT ROBBERY 12 13 -7.7 3 +33.3 16 16 \

PtCl<POCKET 27 18 +50.0 14 15 -6.7 41 33 +24.2 'Ii

PURSE SNATCIlING -FORCE 1 -100 .0 11 19 -42.1 11 20 -45.0

PURSE SNATCHING -l10 FORCE 5 4 +25.0 102 139 -27.3 107 143 -25.9

A'l'TEMFT PICl<POCKET 1 1 1 Ii

ATTEMFT PURSE S'lATCHtNG 1 +100.0 1 11 +100.0

"- TOTAL 173 185 -7.6 197 23/, -16.1 370 419 -12,6

.. AGGRAVATED AssAULT 12 21 -42.9 11 5 +120.a 23 26 -11.5 . _c-",-::';.·=e;::;

ASSAutt WIT1L ~ l\- INTENT TO KIt.!.

MAYREM

TOTAL 12 21 -42.9 11 ,5 +12().O 23 26 -ll,~ .)

GlIAND TOTAL 187 208 -11.1 210 2M. -14.8 397 452 -13.1

.. Adju.~ed for extra day in February 1976 I (I

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COMPLAINANTS FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES BY AGE GROUP AND RACE

60 & OVER * 60 & OVER * TOTAL * CLASSIFICATION lstQ1976-1stQ1975 %CHANGE lstQ1976-IstQ1975 %CHANGE W + NlW %CHANGE ' OF OFFENSES II W N/W N/W - lstg1976-1stg1975

MURDER 1 -100.0 3 1 +200.~ 3 2 +50.0

MANSLAUGHTER

NE,GLIGENT HOMICIDE ,,1 INFINIT'V 1 -100.0 1 1

!.Q!.AL ____ 1 1 +50.0 4 3 +33.3

RAPE 1 -100.0 -100.0 ,3 -100.0

~' ~

ATTEMPT RAPE 1 -100.0 '1 -100.0

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE - ., ATTEMPT CARN'Ai.

KNOWLEDGE

TO'fAL -100.0 -100.0 '4 -100.0

SODOMY

INDECENT ACT -, CHILD UNDER 16

EID'ICING CHILD UNDER 16 FOR IMMGRAL PURPOSES -

TOTAL

ROBBERY 106 88 +12·3 86 117 -27.4 192 205 -7.3

ATTEMPT ROBBERY +14.3 & 9 -11.1 16 16

PICKPOCKET 31 26 +19.2 10 +42,? 41 33 +24.2 \\ \fURSE SNATCHING -I FORCE 7 16 -56.3 4 11 20 -45.0

I URSE SNATCHING-, NO FORCE 65 78 -17;9 42 65 -35.4 107 143 -25.9 '1.1

ATTEMPT PICKPOcKET 1 1 '1

AT':EMPT PURSE ,. SNATCHING 1 INFINITY 1 1 2 1 +100·2

".

TOTAL 219 216 +0.5 151 203 -26.6 370 419 -12.6

AGGRAVArED ASSAULT 5 18 21 -14.3 23 16 -11.5 1- . ASSAULT WITH lIi!IIHT TO KILL

MAYHEM

TOTAL . ...!!L-... 21 -14.3 23 26 -l1.S

GRAND TOTAL 225 224 -0.4 172 228 -25.4, 397 452 -13.1

* Adju~ted for extra d~y in February 1976

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At this point I would like to dired my remarks awa:y from crimes against persons,~nd direct my attention to what is classIfied as crimes against property, snch as confidence schemes and frauds; 'These types of crimes, in many respects, have n much more devastating effect on the elde:dy. In today's modern society law enforcement officex'S and many citizens are aware. that the confidence operatorrr are among the ('lite of the criminal world and that these most intelligent perpetratorn continue to use elderly victims as their primary targets. These crimi­nals are very selecth'c about their victims and tak", advantage of thos() older people who suffer from diminishing mental facilities, and are lonely but pleased to have someone with whom to talk. In older people the confidence artist takes advantage of the elements which make the con scheme sucCeSSfl,ll: Superstition, sympathy, sex, greed (01' lust for wealth), loneliness, and diminishing mental facilitles.

In many cases this con artist, who isknowll for his ability to deal with people of all cultural backgrounds, attempts to persuade the intended victim to get involved in a. somewhat dishonest venture, a so-called sure thing, ,yhere the v.ictim is led to believe that he'll profit at the expense of all 1lnknown party; However, the adventure­some victim is the loser in the cnd.'

The conman is a ,yare that only approximatel:y 5 to 10 percent of con victims ever report the offense to the authoritles, often for reasons of embarrassment Ol' the assumption that they themselves have vio~ lated the law and are not in a good position to prosecute. This, too, IS a talent of the con artist, which is characterized as "cooling the ('om~ plainant)" encouraging him not to l'epOl·t or prosecute.

The most prevalent and current con schemes practiced in the OW ash­ington area are the pigeon drop, trust game and bank examiner swindle. The fact that a great majority of the elderly citizens in the Metropolitan ,Vashington Area are on a substantial retirement. pension from Government service, makes the area a haven for the. conmall. In spite of our efforts to curt.ail the susceptibility of the elderly to this type of crime~ their victimization continues to increase.

Our department has embarked on a wide~pread educational and informa:tional program in an effort to alert 'the elderly citizens and the financial institutions. Detective Sgt. Robert A. Eldridge of the check and fraud section) who lS with me her8 today, a 34-year veteran of our department and noted expert in the field of con games, has participated in .lectures and a film presentation to senior citizen groups, church groups) civic groups, local banks, the American LT).sti­tute of Banking'. radio and television programs, and has had several articles published in local papers and magazines. A confidence schemes program was prepared in conjunction with our community relations division for use in the speakers bureau presenta,tions for senior citi~ zens. Other topics of lecture and film presentations frolI\ the speakers bureau are: ([ " Burgl~ry in the privat~sidence. Sa.fety tips for women. Robbery and the private citizen. Always think prevention. Traffic safety program. While we are encouraged by our program in communicating with

the public and business community, a more coordblated effort is needed to preyent this type of criminal activity.

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In 1975 our department became aware of a need to train and organize investigators for the detection and investigation of consumer fraud complaints, with a view toward criminal prosecutions. Until this time thls function was being handled on a limited basis by members of the check and fraud section along with their other responsibilities. The Metropolitan Police Department Consumer Fraud Unit was officially formed on May 1, 1975. The formation of this unit was based on the department's awareness of the growing problem of criminal frauds commltted against consumers in 'Yashington, D.C.

This unit handles the following types of cases: 1. Home improvement-interior and exterior. 2. Charitable solicitations. 3. False advertisement. 4. Real estate fraud. 5. Investment fraud. 6. Moving and storage fraud. 7. Odometer rollback. 8. R~tail sales fraud. 9. Auto fraud.

10. Retail sales. 11. Repairs. 12. Financing. . 13. False re~stratlOn. RepresentatIVes of this unit have also participated in the public

communications program. A J?~ogram outllning. the ex~stence of the unit. was prepared ,!ith

VIrgInIa Knauer, Specml ASSIstant to the PreSIdent of the Umted States on Consumer Affairs for use on 500 radio stations· throughout the country. 'JIhe unit has also lectured to the uniform officers of the patrol division to inspire a greater awareness and interest on the part of the patrol officer in detecting and preventing this type of crime.

The type of crime this unit handles that most affects the elderly is the home improvement fraud. This type of offense is most usually perpetrated by large groups o:f itinerants who travel up and down the east coast specializing in waterproofing roofs, gutters, and driveway sealer.

In these cases there are no set prices, usually the older the victim the more money charged.

In 1974 there were 146 cases reported. In 1975 there were 24 cases reported. A more detailed statistic chart accompanies the text of my statement. .

In 1974, as an example, a case was brought to the attention of the check section in which an itinerant roof repnir team had obtained $6,568 from an 82-year-old retired military man, and were attempting to get an additional $6,000 from him when discovel'ed by a relative. Investigation revealed that the actual cost of the roof repairs was appl'oximatelV $500 to $600. Indepth investigation revealed that one 01' more members of this team had contacted the victim 0rtginally in 1970 and had received an average of $5,000 each year ';'01' alleged repairs. . 1\

Another case example: A team of itinerants charged an 81-year-old woman $480 for spraying aluminum paint 011 the inside of 47 feet of

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guttering. This same team went up the' street 'to an identical house owned by a 47-year-old male and sprayed the entire room for $50.

These cases illustrate the manner in which the elderl,y are victim­ized. These figures for 1974 and 1975 are not n. true picture of this problem because the majority of these types of cases go unreported. An important deterrent to the continuation of this type of offense is the reporting of the complaint to a law enforcement agency or one of the consumel,' agencies in the metropolitan area, so that a proper inquiry can be conducted and documented. Our department also has developed a communication network along the east coast with other law enforcement agencies exchanging information as to the where­abouts of the subjects responsible for tllis type of offepBes.

Thi,s type 0.£ investigation is very time consum~ng and must be coordmated wlth the local Office of Consumer Affa1l's.

However, in our limited experience in thi.s area of investigation, we feel the greatest deterrent to this type of offense is the education of the public through the various public media and sources within our department. It is also extremely important to encourage the accurate reporting of alleged offenses of this nature. .

When dealing wit,h home improvement repairs, the public is encour­aged to:

One, beware of a low price, Two, ask subjects for reference and check them before having work

done. Three, if subjects are goin~ door to door, ask to sec their license­

District of Columbia vel,ldol' s license. If they cannot produce same, contact a law enforcement agency. '

Mr. Chairman, we feel that the key to any effective program to cur­tail the victimization of the elderly must, be based on continued educa­tion and information to alert and warn the public, and on the con­Hnuedencouragement of the elderly to report all such incidents to the authorities. Thank you for this opportunity to express our views. I will be happy to answer any further questions you may have, along with Detective Sgt. Robert Eldridge, Detective Sgt. Donald McCathran of the consumer fraud unit, and Mr. Vernon Gil, general counseI~ Met;ropolitan Police Department.

Mr. ROXBAL. Testimony before the committee has indicated that the seniol,' citizen doesn't report crimes against them. You made a state­ment on page 3 that .the conman is aware of tIle fact that only 5 to 10 percent of the con victims ever report 01' make a report to the police depal'~ment. Is this generally tr~l~jO£ all crimes ~ ,.

l1ielitenant MORELAND. The percentage,of crimes which are reported, r would say would be much lower.

Mr. ROYBAL. But it is true that the senior citizen reports crimes Jess than the general popuhition.

Lieutenant MORELA~I). Yes, sir. . .... Mr. ROXBAL. On the o~her )uifia, it is your contention that more

crimes are perpetrated aga:irist the senior citizen t.han the general population. Would you say;··that is on the inctense or do you see that it is now on t.he decrease ~. c

LieutenantMoruiLAND. Crimes against the elderly~ Mr. R01."BAL. Yes~ sir.

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Lieutenant MORELAND. I would say it is on the increase. I can only base my judgment on reported crimes.

Mr. R01."BAL. I would like to know how you keep a record of crimes reported. Do you classify each crime as to the type of crime itself ~ Do you also take the age of the individual who is being victimized ~ Because reports before our subcommittee have indicated that police departments don't record the age of the victim. I want to know what your department does.

Lieutenant MORELAND. In t.he classification which is part of the uniform crime reporting codes of the FBI, crimes against. persons are clas'sified and broken down by age. 'rhe v~rtims are asked their age when they report the crime. . .

Crimes against property such as burglary, larceny, confidence schemes, consumer fraud, the victims normally are not required or requested to giye their age.

Therefore, statistical data in that area is very hard to come by, I agree.

Mr. ROYBAl,. In cases of street crimes, purse snatching and so on, you do keep it by age ~

Lieutenant MORELAND. Yes, sir, the attached report shows how we were able to pun from our computer records the report I have in­cluded with my testimony as to crimes against persons. They had it broken down in age groups normally in 5- to 10-year spans.

Mr. R01."BAL. This committee has also been told most of the street crimes perpetrated against the senior citizens are usually made by teenagers.

Have you found that to be a fact in Washington, D.C. ~ Lieutenant MORELAND. I personally don't deal with that type of

crime but in my past experience, I find that to be the case. Mr. ROYBAL. Does your department keep a statistical record of this

type of crime by age, incidence, so forth ~ Lieutenant MORELANJ). I don't know if they keep that and correlate

it with the victim. I can't answer that question. They keep arrests by age groups.

Mr. ROYBAL. Would you answer that, question ~ Mr. GIL. We do keep records as has been indicated but I don't know

that it has ever been correlated or that it can be. 'Ve would be happy to furnish the committee, however, with a copy

or our annual report indicating the ages of the perpetrators of crime. You will see, there is a large number of teenagers.

Mr. ROYBAL. One other point which is made is that there is a great deal of. fear on the part of the senior citizen. The fear is such that the senior citizen doesn't want to leave his residence even during the day~ Do you find that to be a fact in Washington, D.C. ~

LIeutenant MOREL-.4.ND. Yes. , . Mr. ROYBAL. I would· think the same fear that is found in the

'~Tll;s11ingt.on metropolitan area would be found everywhere else. The semor CItIzen, because of that iear, is confined to his home. I think the community as a whole loses out because there is not that constant contact with the senior citizen.

I have one other question I wanted to ask. That is, what happens to the individual who comlhits the crime of i~ud, for example~ You have indicated there have been several instan~~ where so much money

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was taken for a job which costs one-tenth of the amount. 'When that individual is caught, what happens to him ~

Lieutenant MORELAND. 'Ye ~ormally, in the D.O. area, prosecute under title 22 of the D.C. Code, false pretenses or larceny after trust, which cal'1'ies a maximum of 3 years penalty.

Ur. ROYBA~. Does he still operate his business after he is convicted ~ Suppose instead of getting the maximum 3 years he is put on proba­tion. Does he still operate ~

Lieutenant MORELAXD. 'Ve find in this type of crime as in other white-collar crimes, the sentences are not commensurate with the amount of loss. .

Mr. ROYBAL. One wouldn't want to really criticize the judiciary, the . judges on the bench, but sometiines one has to. 1Ve have information

that the judges are too easy on those who victimize the senior citizen. Do yon find that to be the case insofar as your experience is con­cerned ~ Or is it the same as in any other crime ~

Lieutenant l\fORELAXD. I would say it is the same across the board with white-collar crimes that my unit personally deals with. I wouldn't want to make a statement in relationship to the crimes against persons because I don't deal personally ""ith those.

Mr. ROYBAl,. Do you think the judges; could be a little toughed J.Jh~utenant MOREL,\XD. Yes, sir. ..' Mr. ROYBAl,. Mr. Fauntroy, do you haYe any questions ~ Mr. FAUNTROY. Thank you, sir. I have none. Mr. ROYBAL. I would like to introduce the next witness, a colleague.

of mine who needs no introduction; he is a Member of the House of Representatives and has done an excellent job for the District. It is indeed a pleasure for me to present to you the Honorable 1Yalter E. Fauntroy, from the House of Representatives, representing the Djs~ trict of Columbia.

Will you please take the witness chair.

STATEMENT OF HO"N. WALTER E. FAUNTROY, A DELEGATE IN CONGRESS FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Mr. FAUNTROY. Thank you so much. Chairman Roybal and members of the committee, I am most appre­

ciative of the opportunity to appear before this Select Committee on Aging to make a few remarks on the problems of crime and its impact upon the elderly. I am especially appreciative of the fact that this com­mittee has chosen to come into the community and to hear directly from those who are affected by these tra.gic events.

Along with all of. the other proJ;>lems of growing o!d, declini~~ in­comes, the loss of frIends and relatIves, and the potentIal for debIlItat­ing disease, many of oUl' citizens l'nust also contend with crime. In a time when the years after age 50 should be golden, they are often, instead, tragically marred by crime.

In 'Yashington, D.C., the 1970 census projects that persons over the age of 50 compose 25 percent of the population but suffer 35 percent of the crimes committed. The financial costs are staggering, but lUore debilitating are the social and ec:onomic costs of crime against the elderly. Very often, the psychological consequences require greater recoyery time than the physical injllry. .

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A street robbery nlay mean that one never goes out again at night. It ma.y mean living in fear of the da.rk so that one ceases to enjoy the sights and sounds of a lively city, of quiet evening, an.d a gentle stroll.

Going to church beeomes a major undertaking. The elderly fear going alone, and they c,~rtainly cease to attend the midweek services. This is more a tragedy than :it would seein. In the first place, the church is very often the only somce of comfolt that an elderly person has remaining in his or her life. The midweek services are often coupled with a meal that is an imp01·t!tnt staple in the diet and nutrition plan­ning of the elderly. For then) to miss out on these services, which are not costing any government moneys, is a psychological cost to them and a m~metury cost to the Government which must now provide these servIces.

I know that I need not say anything about going to the bank; about cashing the social security or pension check; about living hand to mouth and not receiving the check because it was stolen from the mailbox.

In recent months, the Social Security Administration has provided a plan whereby checks can be sent directly to It bank. While that sub­stantially reduces the numbers of lost and stolen checks, it doesn't eliminate the difficulties that. the elderly encounter in going to the bank, in going to the store, and in going out generally. In any ev~nt, I think we just ought to recognize the fact that this plan recognizes the power of our criminal elements over our senim' citizens and is merely a way to get around them-it doesn't address the problem of why peo­ple attack the elderly.

Aside from the fact, that the elderly are easy victims, there are other considerations. Ours is a society that places much value on the vitality of youth. Indeed, one might say tllat ours is a youthful or youth­oriented society. 'Ve neglect the elderly; we force them to find their own housing; we make them subsist on welfare that is inadequate, and we cry shame, shame wIlen they have failed to save enough to carry themselves in ,the dignity that we think people ought to have.

Very much of the fact of crime against the elderly can, in my esti­mation, be directly traced to the lack of respect that our society gen­erally provides for them. 'We have failed to provide honsing. Even though we do have an elderly housing program, we clearly do not have enough of it.

I note in the audience a man for whom this room is named and who, while in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, has given us great leadership in developing units such as this and others around the country. But I assure you until we give much more atten­tion in terms of funds, and dedication, and support to public officials as to the elderly citizens in units snch as this, we won't face the prob­lem the vast majority of our citizens have to contend with.

I cite to you the example inserted into the Congressional Record on November 23, 1971, wherein Senator Church details the findings of Senator Harrison Williams of the life of a lady in the Arthur Capper housing project in our own city.

The crime of which this 'Poor lady has spoken need not take place­at least not against her-if w.e had provided our senior citizens with adequate hOllsing., .

I realize, of <lQurse, that certain statistic'al analyses will indicate that the elderly are less the victims of c.lime than .the other age groups. To

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say, however, that the rate of crime against peribnS age 50 and over is 35 per 1,000 population, while it is 90 pel' 1,000 population for those aged 16-24 is meaningless.

I think the testimony immediately preceding mine to the effect that there is a g).'eat reluctance on the part of senior citizens to report crimes against them has an impact on the popularly stated statistiGS which are pp;>bably far below the actual experience of crime that our senior cItIzens have.

Persons in the younger age bracket very often are victims of crimes which they tend to encourage by dress, by their personal lifestyles, and, of course, the trauma is generally less Severe than upon an older person.

Crime is a serious problem for all of our people. It is a more serious problem for the elderly than the statistics would tend to indicate. This

.... need not be the fact, however, Hwe would merely seek ways to aid our elderly.

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I would like to suggest a few ways to llelp the elderly. Among the short-term physical could be the implementation of the

1971 recommendations of the "White House Confel'ence on Aging where it was recomlilended that:

'" * * making physical protection and crime prevention an element of the plau­ning of facilities for the elderly ~ expanding police protection of minority neigh­borhoods i establishing formalliaisoll between social service agencies and police departments so that elClerly (,,'ho are) victims of crime can obtain all necessary assistance; providing better street lightill.g; malting training grants available to pOlice officers an(l others to acquaint them with the special situation {)f the elderly and their special susceptibility to particular types of crime i and grant­ing Federal funds to State and locul .. prosecuting officers to expanc1 or establish ~ fraud units which are well acquainted with schemes used to deceiyc ,the elderly.

I am pleased to note, as you have noted, that we; have done this in our city. . .. The~ionger term so~ution comes, of cOllrse, in changing the attitudes

of our society toward~'i the elderly. ",Ve must seek ways to build the respect for our elders ~J1at used to exist. 'Ve n1Ust seek ways to keep them productive in our 'society so that they are visible pMJ)le making a visible contribution widch is valued by all, and, above all, we must haye a governmental poli~'\y which recognizes the elderly as people who are not to ~e shut aw!l'y O(\t of sight and out of mind. J ••

MJ,'.Chalrrnan, agam I Hm grateful to you and membel'f:or~":re CO]11-

mittee for coming to Edgewood Tert'ace and the H.:lt ('i:awfo~d Room i and to the citizehs who are in the best position fQ. .i1'dbrm the committee of the problems we face, reflecting the same problems across the Nation. .. \\ '

Mr. ~OYB4:L. Thank you very nntch for an excellent te~tilllO!!~. I would hke to go over two or three things with you. That IS, l:.:Otlnd great interest in: YO~lr st.atement 'J;e~ardlllg the/act that the senlo:ccit~~;: zen has fear of gOlllg alone to mlijweek serVIces at the local chl1!!~r.

This is something, to be truthful with you, that I hadn't fol1o\~ed. It never occurred to me that because of fear they wouldn't be, gtllng to church. .

How widespread is this~ Has attendance been declining over the last' fe~. years more than at a time, say, when you first started in the, mmlstry~ , . .

Mr. F AUNTROY. I have been minister of my home church for 18 years. We used to hold evening services on Sundays and two midweek SElrV'-

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ices. I guess about 12 years ago we decided we had to drop the Sunday evening services because our elderly citizens were just too frightened to come out at night.

In the last 4: to 5 years, our midweek services, I am sad to report, have also fallen victim of that fear. I am sure our church shares this experience with churches all over the community. We have attempted to solve that problem by purchasing a bus and picking up the citizens and bringing them to the church and retul'l1ing them to their homes.

But the fear of ~oing to church in other than. bright daylight hours is widespread in t11e CIty. I find that to be true across the Nation as well.

Mr. ROYBAL. This subcommittee is going throughout the Nation to hold hearings. and that is one question I am going to ask. I want to lmow whether the sitllation you have described is nationwide. I 'Would think it is. It is a sad thing to have to admit that people are so fright­ened they can't even go out to church during the week or on Sunday evening.

You made reference to the 'White House Conference. I think it was a wonderful conference but I think that was the end of it. I don't think any of their programs were implemented and very little was done to remedy the situation.

This committee has been asked to hold another White House Con­ference. I think what we need to do is make the necessary recommen­dations to the Congress of the United States, so those recommendations made by the White House Conference will actually become a reality. Do you agree with that statement ~ .

Mr. FAUNTROY. Without question, Mr. Roybal, I think we have studied these issues enough to be able to give the senior citizens the type of protection they are entitled to.

LApplause.] Mr. F A'UNTROY. I know this will go not only from your committee

but to other officials who are able to afford that protection. Mr. ROYBAL. 'We have already started that prOCeSs in the A~propria­

tions Committee. I was instrumental in making funds aVaIlable for housing for multipurpose centers which, incidentally, had been author­ized but no money had been appropriated. What good does it do to pass a law then not supply the money necessary to implement it ~ I know you are interested in this and we are appreciative of the help you have given this committee. After we have completed our hearings we will make further recommendations to the Congress and hope the Congress wiUlisten. The reason we are holding these hearings is to make it pos­sible for members of the subcommittee to hear firsthand the probll'ms of the al'Ga but also to serve as an induceml'nt for those of 118 on the committee to make the proper recommendations, then fight for those recommendations on the floor of the House. You are most effective on the floor of the House and I am going to thank you in advance for the help I lmow you are going to give us.

Mr. FAUNTROY. Mr. Cliairman, I again want to thank you for com­ing to the, community. I know some of the people who are going to tes­tify here today. You are going to 11<'11.1' it like it is. Yon are ~oing to have the experience of vicariously living through criminal attacks, through the frustrntion of not bein~ able to ~et ~hecks or having thl'm taken away from you, .either by theft 01' by robbery. I just hope what

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101 the citizens in this community will say to you will be burned into the thinking of the Members of Congress and will move them to respond as I anl sure you want them to respond in both these appropriations and autll()1'lzation matters.

Mr. RO'l'BAL. Thank you very much. Our next witness is Albert Russo, Deputy Director, Department of

Human Resources. After we hear from Mr. Russo, we will hear from various other

witnesses wIlQ live right here in the center.

STATEMENT OF ALBERT RUSSO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Mr. Russo. My name is Russo. l'fr. Chairman, it is a pleasure for me to testify before your com~

mittee on behalf of Mayor W. Washington und Mr. Joseph P. Yeldell, Director, D.C. Department of Human Resources.

Mr. Chairman, those of us who carry responsibility for developing programs with public funds to combatthe causes of crime and to ease the suffering of its victims are aware. that we are engaged in a, war against crime in our cities. As in any WitI', we are waging many battles and counting many casualties. It always seems that the innocent, who in this case are our children and our elderly, are the most vulnerable.

Sometimes as we look at the perpetrators of crimes we are shocked to find ourselves locked in combat with our own, children. It is the children who too often are responsible for the crimes against our parents.

"Ye have funded studies, mounted delrtonstration projects, docu­mented our experiences, and produced ambitious plans to get at the root of our problem. We know that if we ever are to reach the deep­seated causes that we must begin with our children. The District of Columbia Department of Human Resources has looked carefully at this approach and in the past 2 years developed a comprehensive child care plan which, if fully implemented, could be the answer to break­ing down the patterns of ul'banlife that lead to deJinquen('y and result in one of the most horrible symptoms of our urban blight--.:.the des­picable, contemptible crimes against our elderly. ~, The District of Columbia Department of Human Resources has always recognized its responsibility to protect the elderly and to pro­vide services for those who are victimized by crime. In 1968, we par­ticipated in a highly successful Department of Health, Education, and 'Yelfare-funded demonst.ration project on protective services to the elderly. This 3-year project resulted in this service becoming an integral part of programs for adults in the Bureau of Family Serv­ices within our Department's Social Rehabilitation Administration. It is currently funded through apPl'opriation and ~y title XX of the Social Security Act. We have opted to provide this service to any older person regardless of income.

In 1970. out' Divi~ion on Aginf! administereo a study on ~'Me,tro. politan Police Contacts with the Elderly" which is directly concerned with the intprest of this subcommittee. This was tagged Project Assist and, althou~h a very modest demonstl'ation effort, it liad<iom~ pletely documented and developed valid recommendations for dealing

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with the older victims of crimes. The study demonstrated how the police and the social agency can work to~ether to help the older per-son who comes into contact with the polIce for any re~son. .

I have presented to members of your staff a copy of tlllS study wh:ch I think you will find most useful as well as other documents I thmk will be most useful.

Mr. ROYBAL. Without objection) that study will be made a part of the record.

[Retained in committee files.] Mr. Russo. Thank you) Mr. Ohairman. With these. and other studies as the basis for action, the Department

of Human Resources has built a network of preventative and remedial se~vices to alleviate the trauma to the actual and potential victims of crIme.

In the area of 1?revention, we have chore aides, personal care aides, and homemakers m ?ver 1,000 homes on anyone day. This me!tns that older persons, certamly" not all of them, do not havo to go mto the street alone btlt have someone to accompany them. It mMns someone is coming in the home to see that everything is aU ri~ht and to help with the housework. There are over 600 older persons ill foster homes that are approved and monitored by our workers. Many of these .are older mental health patients on convalescent leave from St. Ellza-beths Hospital. . .

Our decentralized service programs have a corps of service workers available to counsel and assist any supplementall:ecurity income re­cipient who needs help. For example, if an older person is robbed and needs money for food, rent, et cetera, this worker assists this victim to get emergency assistance to tide him over. If as a result of the cr:me the victim needs other services such as tran~,portation, housing; or placement, this service worker can help provide such sE'rvice\~.

For older persons who are homeless, there is an emergency shelter pro~ram which ran house them throurrh a crisis. Onr 24-honr protE'c, tive services program, which was initally conceived for children. has expanded its function to include adults. There is someone available around the cIock to respond immediately to the needs of any older persons in trouble. This service is tied 'closely to the Metropolitan Police Department and we and they work collaboratively to resolve the social problems of these clients.

Om,' hospitals and Our clinics provide expert and compnssionate care f.or the victims of crime. There Ilre many ~ervic('s oifer('d throug11 our volunteers such as friendly visiting, transportation, replacement of lost clothing, et cetera. ..

The Department of Hnmllll Resources. Mr. 'Ohairman, (h?rtiiiitains an onl!'in~ effort to coordinate servic('s wi.th private Ilgencie~ and to support these aP.'encies within the limits of its resources. For ~~ample, there is a sizable contractual Rl!rangement that we have with the multipurpose senior citi?:ens centers administered by Family and Child R(>l'vir('s. a United, V\Tay Rl!'ency.

Rut, Mr. Ohairman, with' all these programs and efforts, there is still an element of tokenism we cannot deny. The' problem is massive and continues to Q'l'OW as thepopn]~tion of older persons in our com­mUllity increases bv Jeaps and, bounds. Because of our limited, heavily taxed, and, diminishing,resolltc~)s, we cannot reach out and we do not

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have the ubiquity the older citizen needs. We cannot come close to pro~ vidi~lg the security to overcome that all~pervnsive fear, Mr. Chairman, that dominates our neighborhoods. This is not the real' that Franklin Delano Roosevelt talked about in his first inaugural address. This is fear with a valid reason. The delicate physical, psychological, and financial mechanisms of old age can be damaged il'l'eparably with a moment of terror. The elderly know this, and they how that moment ofterrormight be around the next corner.

Mr. Chairman, in order for us, and for all States for that matter, to provide the kinds and degree of services to our elderly who are victimized by crime, it is essential that Federal funds be made avail~ able far beyond the present authorized levels. For example, ill my view, every State ought to mount an intensive 24-hoU1' protective services program for adults. We cannot do so without an infusion of Federal dollars.

Nor can we expand, as we should, emergency assistance to the elderly who are confronted with crises without the availability of Federal matching dollars.

·Our mission, Mr. Chairman, is to secure the health and well-being of all of our elderly citizens. 'We can nchieve our purpose l).ot only by making safe the streets they walk on ami'the homes in which they reside but also by providing the services they must have both before and aiter the deplorable fact of criminal victimization.

Thank you. Mr. ROYl3AT~. Mr. Russo, your testimol),y is most interesting and very

shocking. 'We have heard similar testiinony and have also had re­quests for more Federal funding. You may be interested to know the Committee on Appropriations did increase the amounts of money which have beellmade available for 197'7'. In my opinion, however, the increase was not sufficient. I agree with you that we have to do a lot. better even though more money has been made available by the Fed~ eral Government i01.' various programs. The problem which the com­mittee has had, however, is a disag'reement as to what programs to finance. There are some on the committee who wonld like senior citizen centers, homes, and so lorth, whereas OthOl'S don't believe that is the propel' way to spend money ..

I don't know what can be done to educate, if I may nse tllat term, the members of the committe~ to the problem. TIllS committee is try­ing, we are goin.!!; throughout the country receiving testimony and we

/;' are goin!! to write a repo'J.'t. f When that report is ready, can your Dal)artment comment on the

recommendations we will be' making at that time? Mr. Russo. vVe wOll19~e delighted to do so and would welcome the

opportunity. \\ . Mr. ROYBAL. You are fUr exp('rt und we would hke. to have that ex-

pert advice. . Ag~in, coming back to the matter of financing, has any proposal been

written by your alrency 01' nnYOlle, requesting that f1) amonnt of dollars besnent in the Distrktof Columbia 1

Mr. Russo. Yes; in our annunl budgetary process, the budget goes before the Appropriations Subcommittee chaired by Representative N ntcher and on the other side to the Senate Appropriations Committee

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chaired by Senator Chiles. In our regular approp,iations l'equest t we do, repeatedly, request additional resources, ad~ttional funds to strengthen our social services programs, particularly tl~~~E:\Pl'ogram~ I have alluded to in· my testimony, such as 24-hGur prote~tive serVIce for adults and expanding our emergency assistance programs. These are two programs vital to meet the needs of the elderly who are vicHm­ized by crime. The problem with our reques~ has been-these are funded on the basis of 25 percent local money 'and 75 percent Federal money-the act of 1972, which established revenue sharing, and also slapped a ceiling on social services. This has worked against the Dis­trict's best interests because the ceiling allocated based on population under that act allocates $8.9 million of Federal Rocial sEl~'vice donal's t.o the District of Columbia. At the time that ceiling was imposed we were utilizing approximately $15 million. Ever since the ceiling has been established we have been at the maximum of our allocation. This has raised a very serious problem in out' ability to fund expansion of our social services program because if we expand our programs we have to do it on the basis of need.

We have demands on services far outstripping and outrunning available resources in our city. It is extremelv difficult with all the other priorities which have to be met to try to aliocate the scarce addiHonal dollars 'available to the city and at the same time meet n,ll the priorities.

Mr. ROYBAL. In which year was this ceiling imposed ~ Mr. Russo. In 1972 Congress enacted the Federal Revenue Sharing

Act. Mr. ROYBAL. Which means for the past several years you luwc been

receiving one-haH--Mr. Russo. Of what we were receiving from the Department of

Health, Education, and Welfare, beoause of the imposition of the ceil­ing which was a provision in the 1971 Revenue Sharing Act.

!j Mr. ROYBAL. One thing this committee could do is to not only ex­amine that ceiling but recommend that it be revised so you wouldn't have to suffer in having to serve some people with half the number of dollars you had in the past. .

Mr. Russo. )Ve would certainly appreciate that greatly, Congress­man Roybal.

I would like to make another recommendation with regard to the subject, the . Federal social services ceiling. There are. a number of States, as a matter of fact more than 50 percent of the States in our land don't spend all of their Federal social serv.ices allocated dollars.

Our recommendation to you, Mr. Chairman, is that the Congress c:on­sider amending the legislation so that States that don't expend their allQcation of Federal dollars, that those unspent funds may be reallo­cated to States such 'as the District of Columbia, which have consist­ently since the ceiling was established been using every dime of their dollars. This type of legislation would assist us immeasurably in ex­panding our social services programs.

Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you very much. . Mr. Fauntroy. Mr. F AUNTROY. Mr. Russo's comments tend to document the needs

for uS to PIty much more attention to our senior citizens. r am sure. the s!ll?comnuttee will. finq as it ~oe~ across the cou!1try that our senior\\ CItizens are becommg mcreasmgly concentrated 111 large urban areas

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and social services should be programed in that direction. I wonId -certainlY=agl'ee with the reformulation of the Federal revenue.shar­jng plan in a fashion that it recognizes where the senior citizens are. If they are in the District of Columbia and other urban areas across the land, the money should go '\,,11e1'e the problem is. That is a very important problem to emphasize.

Mr. Russo, who has given uS' this very substantive testimony, is a man who has served this community and its citizens generally for well over 20 years. co

Mr. Russo. Almost. Mr. FAUNTROY. Almost 20 years in D~strict government. The Chair­

man didn't recognize how right he was in inviting ~fl'. Russo to re­view with us the findings and recom1l1epdations of the subcommittee, because he not only has the expeltise of having worked. with senio1' citizens and onr social service programs across the city, but he himseJf has undergone 'a very painful personal experience wiih crime against, it you don't mind, a senior -citizen, over 50. If you, or any Member of Congress or I had experienced this, it would assHre lIS that the changl's which he has recommended and which we will recommend ns a commit­tee, would be implemented.

I wonder if it would be all right to allow him to recount for uS his own personal experiellce with the kind of crime to which senior citizens fall victim nIl over this N ation ~

Mr. ROYBAL. Would you ~ Mr. Russo. As the Congressman indicated I have given a good part

of my adult life, coming here from the State of Rhode Island, to the citizens of OUt' city in the Nation's Cnpital. During that period of time I have walked virtually all the streets of our ci~y even during those tragic days following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King when it was not exactly safe to walk the streets if you were white. Dur­ing all these times, Mr. Chairman, at no time did any resident of the city even lift a finger to harm me. .

Howevet', on the evening of December 8 last, as I was walking ill the parking area surrounding the apartment house where I live, ,at 2411 20th Street, N'~T., around '7 :30 at night, dark, I heard these running steps behind me. I knew what was about to happen because 3 months before that I was yoked but not harmed. SO ~,S I hearc] these running steps I instinctively dropped what I was carrying in my arms, I turned arQund and swung as hard as 1 could. The nex.t thing rknow I felt pain in my forehead and when I regained consciousness I was on my way in the fire department ambulance to Geor~e 'V"ashington Univer­sity Hospital. I was told by the detective handlmg the case that appar­ently becanse the assailant was angered by the fact I had hit him, after I ha~ been kn?cked unconscious and 'Was la}'ing pl'os~rate at his feet, he kicked me m the cheek bone. He also lacked me III the nose and probably 'Would have continued to kick me to death were it not for the fact It cal' drove into the driveway of the parking Jot and obviously the headlights frightened him off. I couldn't opmlmy mouth for 3 days. The drivel' of that cal', I 'am certain, saved my life, because ac­cording to the neurologist who attended to me Itfter I left George ,V"ashingtoll Hospital-I spent a week at the excellent Veterans Hos­pital-the neurologist told me I would either have been kicked to death if thQ,t car didn't come in 01' I would l1ave been shot to death.

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So I am unabashedly pleased to share my own personal experiences Ivith you, Mr. Ohairman, because, as Oongressman Fauntroy pointed out, no one is safe. Not only here in vVashington, but as I am sure you are well aware because your subcommittee is going around the cOlmtry, the problem of crime p!Ll·ticularly with respect to those who are 50 years or older, if ,ve want to use that as a definition of the elderly, is great and critical.

SIieaking as one who has had a personal experience, I want to com­mend you as chairman of this subcommittee. I know you will give this critical problem the full consideration that it deserves and out of this you and your committee will be recommending substantive legislation which I am confident will alleviate the problem nationally and here in the Nation's Oapital.

Mr. HOYBAL. Thank you, Mr. Russo, and I also thank you for agree­ing to help this subcommittee when we present our l'ecommendations to the Congress.

We are going to heal' as mallY ,,-itnesses as possible. Make it as brief as you possibly can, So it will enable us to heal' as many as we can between now and the time we have to go back to answer rollcall in the House of Representatives. I would like to can Mrs, Pierre to the wit­ness stand.

STATEMENT OF MRS. TOMM PIERRE

Mrs. PmRRE. Good morning, Mr. Ohairman, mernbers of the com­mittee, tenants and concerned friends.

Before going to my testimony I would like to say to you) Mr. Ohair­man, that these people have been sitting ill these seats since 8 :30, wait­ing for a hearing at 9 o'clock. These are senior citizens. There seems to have been a lack of communication. They have been up since 5 o'clock. Many haven't had breakfast before coming here becanse tlwy are con­cerned as to their security. So, sir, I am not being critical but I would like to have better communication.

Ml'. ROl.'13Ar~, I don't know what hnpPclled, but this subcommittee never intended to stUl.'t a hearing at D o'clock. "Where the D o'clock time origi,nated is 110t our fnult; we don't know anything about that. This hearmg was called for 10 o'clock n,nd ,,-e were here at 10. As yon know we werc a little delayed waiting for the, various news media to set up theil'equipment. But I realize. they have been sitting here for a long time. 1:V e apologize for the incoIl.veJiience, but I assure you the subcom­mittee haclno knowledge of it being called for D o'clock. Had it been called for 9 o'clock we would have been here.

Mrs. PmnRE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. ' I am president of Tolbert councill'esidents and also chnirman of 20

resident council presidents. I went to a hearing one day and I heard some complaints about lack of secnrity in the buildings and there have been nothing but hearings, hearings, hearings. For years we have had no action. So I recommended to the presidents that we band together und we are going to take action. In the building where r live at Har­vard Towers, the man who comes with groceries; eggs and what not for

"the l'esic1ellts~ was robbed in the building. He was robbed by an outsider and not a reSIdent .. ~~e }md another resident who was getting off the bus with her gro­

cenes and her money. Hel,' purse was grabbed. 1m.' arm was injllredand

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put in a sling for many days. "What we, really n(>ed in national capital housing is better security. "\Ve have security guards who are untrained, not professionals, who don't know It thing about secntity and are un­derpaid. One of them, informed me 3 years ago 'when. I moved into HaJ.:vard Towers that his salary waS $2.50 an hour ..

People who are hired are students who study. They don't know what protecting the senior citizens is. All they knoW' is they are working to educate themselves and so they study on the job. That is lack of training.

Thay -will sit at the desk, when a senior citizen comes in, he has 110 compassion to open the door for a lady who has to get her groceries by hus, with bags and what not. I-Ie doesn't htWEI the kind of compassion to help the senior citizen in witll her bnndles~he is still studying.

[Applause.] I am speaking from what I have personal knowledge of. I have

training from the CIA ancI the FBI. I am a 100 percent war veteran. So, I checked the secmity myself. This is in all buildings. I am not speaking of only Harvard To,,'ers but ill behalf of the National Capital Seni01: Citizens. I was told guards were the first priority. The guards should socialize with people in the building. Heis not interested in us. And, oh, c1on~t talk.aoout the telephone. We can't even get the guard by telephone.

Mr. R01:"BAL. Who pays the guard ~ Mrs. PIERRE. I will get to that, sir. Mr. ROYBAL. Alll'ight. 1\£rs. PIERRE. So, we need that type of protection. The guards are "

from a private agency. lVeo<lon't need a private agency where the men _1

n;tthe ~op al'(l getting the n:lOney and al'<' not paying the students who are trymg'-'to get an educatIOn at $2,50 an hOUl', or maybe $2.25 as one tolc1mc ,'/hen I ilrst moved in. .

What we need, sir, is Federal protection. I am speaking as an individual, not as a chairman of presidents. Personally, I feel if we can spend so much money taking care of the Cubans coming here " ancl of the~tliens roming here, why in the I-L __ don't we do Qui' own homework and take care of those who have worked so hard and toiled and cont:dbuted to the social security system and so forth ~

In August I am being sent to Miami by the American War Vet­erans. I have been there before and was amazed how the Cubans have ('!U'S, homes, r1othin,Q" and evt'l'~,thin.g else, while the PMI' citi7.ens in Washington don't even have. a decent place to sleep and now they are even talkhlg' nbont'pl1ttinp' offtl1f\ fnod Rramn~. rAnnl!l.llse.l

. ~ can't see wl;ty Congress can't. t~1re the money and give the.s~nior CItizens pl'otectlOn. Instead of gIVlltg all the money to the mlhtary coJonelf', {renel'a.1s-T ca.n ta.lk about this becfJu.se 1 am one of them­instead of taking that money and flying them all over the world, inchK:t:i-ug=e6np:~essmen and Senators who go on pleasure tl'ips sup­posedly ill favof' of the Ullitcd States using taxpayers' money .. Why can't we take that money and take care of our ow11 American qttizens~ [A:nplause.] .

So, again, I say that the lighting is very bad around the various , Nat.ional Capital Hou~in,q; apartments. ·We needbettel' lighting; ,ye

need the policemen to patrol on their tOllr of duty as often as possible around our areaS. Now, in sbmeofthe buildings, there is no guard '

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protection at all. And where there are people who really need it, they should definiteJy have security around the "clock.

This is all I have to say because most of the things I would say have been said by our Congressman. So, sir, if you would get us security through the Federal Government and not these private firms we ,,'ouId deHultely apprecIate it. [Applause.]

Mr. ROYBAL. First of all, let me state I wholeheartedly agree with the views expressed in your statement, especially your request YOI'

more Federal funds to be made available to take care of the senior citizens. There are several Congressmen, including your own, who have supported this legislation, but unfortunately there are not enough votes to pass the legislation. But imagine what would happen if all the senior citizens in the United States got together and started a letter writing campaign. Suppose I got thousands of letters from the State of California and every senior citizen in the United States sent letters to their Hepr('s('lltath'es-it seems to me there is a pos­sibility the Congress as a 'whole will listen. . So what I think we have to do is form a coalition, that is with tIns

committee, so that the senior citizen can respond whenever we place a call for help on pieces of legislation which we will be recommendmg t6 the Congress. l¥"hen that time comes, I hope there is not a single senior citizen throughout the United States who dbesn't write that letter and put pressure on the Congress.

That is the kind of action we have to generate in order to get tlll::, type of legislation through.

Mrs. PIERRE. Congressman Fauntl'oy, you are sitting right ther". You heard what he said. lV'e will be looking for you to help us.

Mr. ROYBAL. We would like to hl'al' from Richard Harris to 01 follo"'ed by Rosetta. Cousins. Then ,,'e will listen to Martha Mingo

Will YOt; proceed, Mr. Harris.

STATEMENT OF RICHARD HARRIS

Mr. I-LmRIs. I have been robbed and beaten because we have no protection. They come hl and out whenever they choose, they break out the windows in the halls and everything. I wa$ robbed twice last month. My address is 601 Vir.oinia Avenul', SE., apartment 307. My name is Richard Daniel Harris.

Mr. ROYBAL. You say you have been robbed and beaten twice in the last month?

Mr. HARRIS. In the last month . . Mr. ROYBAlJ; 'Will you tell us just how you were beaten? '\V' ere yon

klCl{eat~ Mr .. HARRIS. No; I got off the ell'Natol'. they hit me and knocked

me down. I did not have much money but .they took all my credentials. Mr. R01.'BAL. Ho"I' old are you, Mr. HarrIS? Mr. HARRIS. Seventy-four and a half. Mr. ROYBAlJ. The person who attacked you, what age would yon

estimate him to be? "Was he a teenager~" , Mr. HARRIS. Around 18 or 20. Mr. RO'lJ3AL. And it was a man then that made the attack? Mr. HARRIS. It was two of them. Mr. ROYBAL. You say you did not lose much money, but the money

you did lose is all the money you had; is that correct?

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Mr. HARRIS. Yes, sir. Mr. ROYBAL. So you lost aU you had in your pocket. How tHd. you

get along the rest or the month ~ It must have been most difficult. ,'1. Mr. HARRIS. It was. I talked to my social worl;;:e1' and they provided

for me. Mr. :ROYBAL. I see. Mr. Fauntroy. Mr. FAUNTROY. I am very moved by what I told yon would he a

listing. of infuriating attacks. I simply don't understand why these strappmg, strong. young mt'n choose to attack 70-year-old men and

.J women. Let me just say to Mr. Harris we appreciate his coming and sharing llis experience with lIS.'

f

Mr. R01.'"BAI~. Mi'. Harris, we th!mk yon very mnch. This is tIl(', type of testimony we want.

Is ,Villard Muldrow here ~

STATEMENT OF WILLARD MULDROW

Mr. MULDROW. Mr. Chairman, and the rest of the members, I ha,ve a short statement to make. ,Ve don't haY(~ a,llY sec1ll'ity at Mayfair ManSIOns.

VOICE. Anytime you go out there somebody got their eyes on you. It is an inside job.

Ml'. ROYBAL. Will you proceed. Mr. MULDROW. "r e had security guards 2 years ago but they all

vanished about a year ancl a half ago. Mr. ROYBAL. What is the location you are talking about? Mr. MULDROW. Mayfair Mansion in Northeast "rashington. We

don't have security there any time. Anyone can come through any time of night. We are annoyed by fire engines coming in. Somebody after school pulled all alarm foul' times in one night. So .we are terrorized by this noise all the time.

r myself 'have been robbed three times since 1962. I was walking along 12th and 0 in 1962. They didn't get any money. I had some tools I Was working with and tlley took part of t11em. I was last attacked at 7th and Florida Avenue, threatened with being shot and killed, on the 5th of January 1976.

So, we would be glrld if we could get some security. 'We like the place out there. It is 11 nice place and nicely decora.ted and would recommend better security.

]\fl'. ROYBAL. Thank you, Mr. Mu1drow. Yom' last attack was on January 6~

Mr. MULDROW. January 5. Mr. ROYBAL. Of this yead Mr. MULDROW. That is right. Mr. ROYBAL. How old are you now ~ ]\fl'. ]\fULDROW. Fifty-nine. /; Mr. ROYBAL. 'Vas this at night ~_f Mr. MULDRO,\V. About 12 o'clock in the day. Mr. ROYBAL. I was going to say, here is another indication of the

fact these crimes are committed not only in the evening Ol' night but in broad daylight.

]\fl'. MULDROW. It wns about the coldest day we had, the 5th of; January. I was llel'VOUS anyway, I had been to the hospital at Hownrd

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University, and gone through quite a bit of examination. I went to a bus stop and two fellows walked up as though they were going to O'et the bus. They told me, "If you don't give us all the money you ~ave in your pocket, come out slow, or we will blow your brains out." I kept telling them I did not have any money. I had my veteran'check in my pocket. I had to discontinue my bus that day. I couldn't do anything for the rest of that week. They did quite a bit of harm to me. I did not get over it for quite awhile.

Mr. ROYBAL. I can well understand. Thank you very much, Mr. Muldrow. Mr. MULDROW. Thank you. I wish I could think of more. Mr. FAUNTROY. Mr. Chairman. Mr. Muldrow, did you report this

to the authorities ~ ]\{r. MULDROW. I walked back over to a store. I did not know which

way to go. I got on a bus and the fellows told me the most important thing to do was to report it. I got on a bus and went on out to Irving Street, a better area. I actually was not in shape to report it.

Mr. FAUNTROY. I see. Thank you. Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you, sir. Will you please tell us your name. Ms. COUSINS. Rosetta Cousins. Mr. ROYBAL. ,ViII you proceed ~

STATEMENT OF ROSETTA COUSINS

Ms. COUSINs. This guy came in on a Saturday morning. I was in the bathroom. It was about 4 o'clock. I laid down in the living room and turned the lights off. I dozed off to sleep and I am easy to wake up. Something was pulling me on my side. I said, ",Vhat in the world are you doing in here, Devil~" He jumped on me like a dog, smothered me. I was domg like this [indicating'j. The manager next door came in, and I said, "He is smothering me." It was a man. The manager tore the lock off the door and the man 'went, jumped oyer the patio and over the fence. It fdghtened me so. I have heart trouble. The manager hit the door fiye times with n, bullet and he jumped off me and it scared me so.

The detectives had the clogs l'nnning all over the park and they round him up in a trash box.

Mr. ROYBAL. How did the man get in the h ouse ~ Ms. COUSINS. I had the door open. I go to District of Columbia Gen-

eral every night. " Mr. ROYBAL. vVas the cloor unlocked ~ Ms. COUSINS. Yes; we have glass doors. I ha va been sleeping like that

fo1' 11 years. I go to District of Columbia General around 2 o'clock ~very night and sleep there every night. There is no ait-conditioning m there.

Mr. ROYBAL. You say this took place 2 years ago ~ Ms. COUSINS. Going'on 3 years. Mr. ROYBAL. Did you have allY similar experience after that time ~ Ms. COUSINS. Yes; the police camEl there, took my llame, pictures

and all. Mr. ROYBAl,. Yon did report it, then ~ Ms. COUSINS. Yes. .

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lVIr. ROYBAL. All right. Thank you very much. Next we 'will hear from Lucille Bennet. Is she present ~ Then after Lucille Bennet, Virginia Neal. "''\Till you proceed?

STATEMENT OF LUCILLE RENNET

lVIs. BENNET. This happened to me quite a few years ·ago. It was about 2 years before I moved here and I have been 11ere a little over 3 years. At about 4:30 in the evening I went to the 5 and 10. I SMV a cal' parked by the curb and there was a lot of mell in it. I walked to the cornel' and the light changed. Then there were two young boys who walked up behinclme. All of a sudden I felt something hit me in the back and both of them whirled around and grabbed 1'ne. They said: "Give me your purse." I did not have much money but I did not care Itbout the money So lUuch because I had my medicaid card and keys in it. I triecl to hold it to keep them :i'-J.'om taking it. Then I felt something cutting the pm'Se off my arm. I have a scar now where I had foul' stitches. One took me mid swung me around and around and around. The other two run.

I figured when they did this they figured I wonldn't know whic1i directIOn they went. i tried to get up off the ground since the Lord didn't let my head hit the sidewalk. I lmew the Lord was with me because he did not let me get hurt that bad. They a.hnost pUlled this arm out of place, the arm was black as it could be, my hip and this leg were blacker than this [indicating]. By this time one of the mell jumped out the car and said: "Can we help you ~ ,Vhat happened~" 1 said: ~'You were sitting in the cal'. You saw what happened." I said: "You look like the one who grabbed me." I said: "You do have a belt on like the boy who grabbed 111e." I re!lChed out and touched him and he said: "Don't do that, that's my incision." I said: "'\Ye will have to pray for you ahout that." And he said: "Yes, you do that, lady." Another one by this time got out of the cal', tall and with his hair all brushed up 011 'his head and all prettied up with a big bow tie and he said: ({I am so sorry, do you want us to get th~ police for you~" I said: "1 don't know what the police can do. I don't have no keys to get in." He sai.d: "I'll go down to the hardware and see what I -can do with vou." So he walked down there with me to the hal'dwnre and as soon cas I walked to the hardware two police motorcycles drove up. Blood was just pouring f1'0111111Y arm. One of the guys sitting in t.he cal' went ovel' to the whisky store and he put a towel on my nrm. The police said: "1Ye'll ha..ve to get yon to the hospital." He said: "That arm has to he' sewed up." 0

, ~<[r. ROYBAL. III other words, when they gru.bb!:ld the purse, the~' lllJul'ed your arm?

Ms, BENNE'l'. They cut the handle off with a knife. :Ml'. ROYBAL. The.y ltsed the knife then to cut the pmse and while

they were doing that., they cut your arm ~ Ms. BENNET. I don't know. But they cut my arm. I don't know if

yon call see the scar or riot r indicating]. I told theyolice; "I haye to get my ke,ys because I can't gethome'aritl

the office wIll be closed at 5 0'clock.11 The offic~;r.' said {'We'll take

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you to the office so you can. get your apartment opened but you have to let me take you to the hospItal."

So the guard said his car was sitting there and he would take me to the hospital. The officer said: "Don't worry, Mrs. Bennet .. The lock will be challged 011 your door." So, I went oyer to the hospItal and I did not get away from there until 9 o'clock at night. 'rhe. doctor who examined me said: "Are you sure. you ain't got no bones broken~" I said: "No, I am just black and blue all over." .

Mr. R01c13AJ,. I thank you very much for your testlll1ony. Ms. BENN:E1'. I don't hear too good. lVIr. R01:"BAL. I said, we thank you very much for your testimony. lVIr. FAtrNTROY. Thank you, Mrs. Bennet. Mr. ROYBAL. Virginia Nea1.

STATEMENT OF VIRGINIA NEAL

Ms. NEAL. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my name is Virginia Hazel Neal, 711 24th Street.

Last year I was robbed in the 1000 block of 17th Street. They snatched the items from my car and run with them. This year, March 10, I went to get some ice cream and a paper. Two men, I know them, jumped in my car and said: "Drive on." I said: "I don't ]mow you all," and they said: "Yes, you do."

I had very little gas [indicating]. I said: "Where do you want us to go?" I told them: "I ain't got no money." He. said: "Anybody oyer .55 ahI't got no business living if she don't have. no money." They said: "Drive over to East Capitol Street Bridge." ""Vhen I got the ?hance, I jumped out on one side while the r:ar was going. They Jumped out on the other side. I ran back to the car and got it and drove back home. ,,\Then I got there, I caned the police. I said: "Take me ba~k and I will show them to you." They sa.id: "No; stay with us. We got to get fingerprints."

Then the, next day, the manager said: "Did yon get robbed? Your purse is here behind the building." I went down there. They look my permit and my keys. This happened on the 10th. I got the l)ermit on the 12th: 10 clays later they came back and got thl~ car. The police said: "When are yon going to get your locks changed~" I couldn't because I clidnot ha.ve the money. On the 30th of last month they eliel $450 damage. They hit two girls.

I saw t]~ein yesterday. I know them. The police did not do anything to them. I could have hurt myself jumping out of that car.

Illl1ve no more to say. Mr. R'1YRAT,. Thank you, Ms. N ea 1. I would like to hear next from Sinclair'Vylie. Very briefly, tell us what your experience. has been.

STATEMENT OF SINCLAIR WYLIE

Ms. WYI,TE. Mr. Ohairman. Gooel afternoon, Mr~ Ohairman, and member$ of your staff. I am Sinclair 'Vylie, 1221 M Street NW., pl'esident. of the Resident Council. I came in behalf of not only myself, but of the residents of that building. There are 401 persons living there.

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We don't have proper security; we luwe been begging NOHA, as it was formerly known, for 24-hou1' security guards. This was not granted to us. "We get guards in the evening from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m" 5 days a week; Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, 24 hours a day. Only one guard to It building that houses over 380-some units, not people, but units. This is supposed to be one of the largest senior citizen center buildings in the District of Columbia, linder the National Capital Housing Authority. From one set or wardens to another, the authorities to the administration. I get hung up on words, too, It makes you feel as thongh yon are living in jail, I even call my apart­ment cellblock 1003. You have to be careful going through the hall­ways as well as the outs]cle because we just don't have senior citizens living in that building. I~T e have veterans of any war who have first preference over s('nio1' citizens and, of course, they arc younger ancl like to cut up a: little more. IVe have people there from the vaTious Imental itlstitutions ltnd I ten you they give us a (levil of a time aronnd there.

r Applause.] Then we have alcoholics from RCA . • Tust name it, we have got it.

If it is out there in the street, it is in the building, from bootleggers on to number writers, and nobody to stop them. Yon. wonder how theSe people get in.

We have six doors on the first fioor entrance. Congressman Fauntroy has been there and seen these doors. There is only one guard. No other protection. You sign in, that. guard can't sit there and take your sie,natul'e while soml'boc1y else is coming in the othel' doors. The garage door is left open Trom before 6 in the morning until after 6 in the evening. There ha,va been several 1'0bbel'lE'S ancl peol>le beaten, two 1'<:'r80ns lll'Ver canw back from the hospita1. The Ivay they were beaten i~nd the pOOl' circulation of blood, tlley Ii'l'nt into a stroke and TI:om there into death.

Not only that, we have one ·woman who 1'1'cenHy came from Lynch­burg because her mother "'as bMtl'n in the building and had whisky ponred ove1' ll(~.i' like she was dl'nnk to give theallthorities there the impl'ession this was a dt'nnlnm old woman. Hl'l' arm was broken; she was bE'aten bhH' and blar.k. Her nam('- is Mrs. Elder. These are some of the things which have happ(mec1 there. Most have happened before 4 o'dock in the evening wlll'n there are no gU1wds.

When I went to the officl' this mOl'nine,-. t1ll' time when Mrs. Elder was bl.'aten cou1cln't he snhstnntiatl'd. Several pl'ople have been robbed right nt the front door. 011(.' man was l'obbl'<l twice as he got ont of a cab. He 10st everv Cl.'l1t he had because Ill' hacl just 11C'l.'1l to the bank to (,l1sh hili I'heck:His c1uuP'htel'S took him to live .,dth them.

The hl1i1dinO' is so unsafe that you are afraid to walk the 111'l115 in the evening-. There iii one mtm tllrl'e in pa.rticulal'. lYe couldn't get l'nongh neoplf'. to testify a9:ainst him to get him out. Th<:' man is from n mf'nhll institntion, ant1 on('e he tlll'Md on the fire alal'ms at'4 o'(~lock in the morning. The following week three women were found sitting Ul1 in thl'il' IIPIIl'tment wHh heart ntta.cks. Now, if this is safl'., put me ont in ('.oml'hodv's u,lll'Y bec!\.l1('.(, thev come 1n thel'e any time they want to and that onE' guard can't follow t)wm jn a building of that size. 'N"e hllVt>, no protection ~s ral' as protection of ne1'SOn8 is concerned in. Ola.ridge. Towers. It is a pathetic sitna.tion. ViTa have 111<:'oholic8 who

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have been brought there to live with the senior citizens who are not of a senior age, but We are forced to live there with them under the same rules and regulations but they break every rule in the book.

[Applause. ] We have people who we know haven't had their applications in for

2 years and 6 months with occupancy in National Capital Housing and PMA. They have moved in there from the various institutions and have gone completely berserk throughout the building. ""Ve are afraid to come out without protection. The SIdeway around 11th and M is now n:etting ready to close because it has been robbed so many times. So often when I go shopping ~ have to pay someb~dy from my meager check to take me out of the Clty to do my shoppmg where there are not so manv robberies going on, because I am afraid to go to that Safeway. They rob it sometimes twice a week, and maybe more, around the first part of the month. One of our residents was robbed there day before yesterd!ty on her way back home after getting her check cashed.

As you know, the Treasury. Department is getting ready to stop the check cashing. These people have nowhere to go to get their checks cashed. They don't have bank acconnts~ some can't read and write, and when they have to go to the food stamp office, a little hole in the wall at 9th and 0. their Iiif' is onlv in God's hands. One month a man was lying out there with his head busted open, the next month a woman had a pot of lye to throw on somebody. Where are the police­men? ,Ve don't see them. But at 12 o'clock every day you can find them at 11th and 1\£ in that restaurant having a good time and there was a passel of them. Sometimes on 11th Street behind the liquor store you will see them drinking in the patrol car, drinking their beer instead of being ont there where the robberies are going on. I have as1ted the second district to have policemen in that area 'from the 1st until t.he 5th of the month to protect these people who are unable to protect themselves. ,Ve don't get it. Maybe we will see one once, but not after that. There is just so much I can't tell it all now. If it is humanlv possible that I can see yon some other time with

my Congressman ,vho has tried and I know he has tried to help us in many instances, even to get ail' conditioning in that building where we live-it has not bcen turned on yet though.

Mr. ROYBAL. I cn.n a~sure you he is doing a lot. of work in your be­half. He is an excellent Representative.

May I tha,nk you for your testimony. It was very interesting. Due to thl'l laC'k of tim(', I will not UF'k nnv <1u('stions.

If you have any written testimony you would like to present to the committee please do so. It will be made a part of the record.

Ms. W!LIE. I don't have any written testimony but I do thank you for IlJlOWlllg me to speak.

Mr. ROYB,\L. Louis~ Brown, will you proceed?

STATEMENT OF LOUISE H. BROWN

Ms. BROWN. My'name is Louise H. Brown. I am from the .Tudiciary !fouse, }\frs. ,Vylie has just about given you the picture of out sitna­bon. We only have one guard. I have been fighting to get two guards. When he is called. away on an emergency, it leaves the WOJl1en or

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peqpl~ standing out on the street. 'Ve have had two women attacked coming a half block from the store to their home. IV e have had a man beaten very badly inside the building. He was hospitalized for quite some tim~. He had a heart attack but has recovered. The situation is that. we are afraid. It is just fear. I, myself, had a pe.rsonal thing happen to me in January.

There was something going on in a building around 5. My husband was in the office taking care of business. As he came out of the office some man walked UP to him and said. "You are the one I am looking for, Mr. Brown." He said he was from the telephone company. I had previously had trouble with one of the phones in my house but they had fixed it. Howe.vel', my husb!1nd came in with him, called me and said, "Here is the telephone Jnan." He assumed I had called. He came in and was well acquainted ',dth the workings of the telephone. He told me tflere is some way they can trace when yon are having iI'oub1e on your hne whether you had cfl.lled or not.

He proceeded to tell me he hac 1 the phones in tIle back alley in the truck and asked what <!olm:s I wanted. And he said there wOlllel be a fee for installation. ,Ve knew this but. age, I suppose, stops us from being alert. But he-,was very shrewd. I\Iyhllsband asked how m11ch it would be and he said $4. 1\1: v husband was leaving and. thE; repairman was supposed to be going to the trllck to get the phones. So he went down on the elevator, leaving with my husband. My husband had given me the $4. But he did not get on the elevator, he came back to me and he proceeded to talk again as to the colors and he said: ",Vell, it, will be $4", Not thinking I said, "Do you want it no,y~') He said, "Yes." So I gave him the $4 and waitecl for him to come back. How­ever, he did not come back. In abont an hour or so r caUed the emer­gency number because it was Ilronnd about 5 and asked if t11ey had an order for my phone. They did not. Of course, I came to the con­clusion that it was a flimflam. I caned the business office the next morn­jng and there was no order there. He had the nerve to come back into the b1.1ilding, to another tenant's apart.ment. '1'he guard let him in by signing the book which doesn't mean anything. Anybody can come in those apartments by signing those books.

Mr. ROYBAL. In other wOTds, if I go to the apartment and say I represent the telephone company I don't have to show any identification? '

~{s, Bnow:N". That is right. Mr. ROYBAL. Isn't that supposed to be part of the guard's job to

make sure people going into the building are properly identificcl? Ms. BnoWN. Yes. Mr. ROYBAL. It seems to me whoever is supplying those guards

should at least take some interest as to what is goihg on. Ms. Bnow:N". This is true, but as Mrs. "Wylie 8tatea; the guards al'e

either sleepmg half the time or are on the telephone. It has been tried and tested. While a person is wl'iting 11is name the guard doesn't look up. He is btlsy on the telephone. He doesn't know what name is being put clown. I, mys~l:f, have .had to stand ?utside u:y builging. It so happened I was wlth my c'bJldren, and warced 20 mmutes for a guard to open the door at night.

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Mr. ROYBAL. I suppose this condition you are describing can be found in other places.

Ms. BROWN. Right. [Applause.] . Mr. ROYBAL. 'Which means all the deve10pments arc the same when

it comes to the lack of protection ~ Ms. BROWN. Right. I am pl'eside,nt of the resident council and have

had an occasion many times to call It guard. ,Vhen that guard leaves that door and he comes to find out whn,t is going on in the other part of the building, he may be, upstah's for an ho111'. There is no one there to open the door. Or there may be tenn.nts sitting in the lobby and they will open the door which means anyone can get. into that building.

Mr. ROYBAL. Thank you for your testimony. We have three more witnesses to hear from. lYe want to make it as

brief as possible. vVe want to he~tr from Mary Laviege, James Kelley, and Dn.vid Robinson.

STATEMENT OF MARY LAVIEGE

Ms. LAVIEGE. Mr. Chairman, dignitaries, I am on the council of Edge\yood Tenace. My nume is Mary Laviege. I live in this building. On the 4th of March of this year, between 'I and 7" :30, I was going out for the evening. I rode the bllS and got off at 3rd and Florida Avenue. These two boys came from behind me. I don't know whether they came, from the Safeway parking lot or down the alley by Frazier's Funeral Home. Anyway, they followed me across the street, stood by the bus stop and then they walked arollnd the corner, Something inside me told me there was something wrong. So I walked to the corner by the little white church and I did not see them. About 5 minutes later the bus came. I had put one foot on the bus when these two boys came up and pulled me otY the bus. They struggled to get me around the corner ,into the alley, After I saw they diclnot have.anything- to harm me Wlth-I had on some heavy shoes, find I stinted lnclnng. They had gotten me auont as far from the nIley as I am from you. About that time, three men came out of the liquor'store and one yel1ed, ",Yhat ill the hell are yOll trying to do to the woman~" They diel not stop immediately. Then the thl'e>e men started across the alley and I was released. They didn't get my pocketbook. I had about $100 and aU my identification' because I ha(1' just gotten paid. I thanked the three men. There were men and women 'on their steps. I guess they were drinking.

The bus driver did not pull ofr but. did not help either. Tlwre were men on the bns j they didn't offer any assistance either. So being ner­vous and frightened' as I was I got on the bus anel proceeded where I was going because I was too scared to wait for a cab. 'When I got to West Virginia Ave. and Florida, NE., I hailed a scout car. I told the>m what had hnppeneel. He> asked me whete I was going and I told him. I gav(' him my name and address anclllC' asked me my age. He toldmo he was on {mother burglary can aud he would send som('body do:wn to take· my information. So by t1~e time I [(ot to where I was gomg the scout cal' was already there Wlth two policemen. They were very kind and took the information I gave them and said they would have somebody out to my apartment, which they did. They brought the mug booli$ with them but I did not recogliize any of' the boys.

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They were between 1"( ancl18 years of age. I was sore in my shoulders and across my hand where I was holding on to my pocketbook.

I had something to work with in the pocket of another jacket I was wearing. It was not a gun but a spray. Hall they gone into my pocket they could have harmed me because with the illness 1 have it would have choked me to death. Had they gotten me to the alley 1 don't know what would have happened. I :.un very thankful to God and those three men that I am here to testify.

Thank you. [Applause.] Mr. ROYBAL. Please identify yourself and proceed with YOtlJ>

testimony. STATEMENT OF JAMES KELLEY

Mr, KELLEY, Mr. Chairman and committee, Congressman or this city. He doesn't know it but I am his father and he is my son in spirit. He doesn't know why he is preaching; 1 will tel111im, Hevel'end Foster is responsible for you being a preacher, I am not a preacher becaus{\ 1 can't talk but I am going to make my statement short.

For the last hour I have been trying to figure what to say to tell you 50mething. I could say a whole lot of things you have already heard. but that doesn't hel)? any. So I will have to makc it short because yOll have heard everyth1l1g between here and heaven. It would destroy the devil.

My name is James Foster Kelley, "(OO 12th Street, SE., Potomac Gardens. I anl coming before you to say my little bit in behalf of the senior citizens ill that area. The problems we are having there are vandalism, nonsecurity and when I say vandalism, yon llame it, that is what we have had nronnd there. The aIel, the new, it is demolished and so on and f'0 forth. Now, I have l\Ot been attacked myself, I am not bragging about it but my wife has be€'ll attarkeel. And speaking about going to church 01' anywhere at any time-that is my problem in a free country, free enterprise, free anything, freedom of speech and you can't hardly live for being afraid that you will b~ ill-treated by the same kind of animal yon al'e, a Inunan being, I just can't sel;', why the senior citizens of America--

Mr. FAUNTROY. Take your time. Mr. KELLEY rcontinniilg]. Who have worked. hurd for this country

und in this golden age. we are living in can't be rC'speetecl. ,Ve have gottC'n some promises for thin~s we have asked, WC' ask who is ill authority, just lik(\ a, father askUlg a child for anytlling he wants, and we have' gotten so many promises until they donc ehal1gC'd the word now. Whenever we say ,vt' want somC'thing, they tt'll you right out, no, 'Whatever we want, if you are sick, hungry-now Wt' 11,1'(' talking flbout medicaid, food sttunps. I made lln application. 'flies told me I was too rich, wasn't eligible. But, anyway, that is the way it is today. You; Mr. Roybal, chnirman of this snbrommittec\ we hope. yon havc snc('ess in yOUI' trip ac~'oss the count,r:v bC'callse wllt'l'C'vet" yon go you will und the same tlung and you WIll have the same qUl'shons and the peo­ple will be looking "fa'/,' the SI\.1M anRWel') security. VVh(,l~ yon use that word, thf!-t covers any l1art of life thnt you ll~ed, have to have 01' wnnt. Because 1:1: yOlt are outdoors you need securIty. I could say more but at this time) OWing to the lateness of the hour and many thinao: ~.n

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do-I am thankful I had the opportunity to meet one of the leaders of our Government and have the opportunity to let him see how I feel in reference to the senior ·citizens of the United States of America.

Mr. ROYBAL. Mr. Kelley, I thank you very much for your testimony. [Applause.] You can be sure this committee will. not only listen to what you have

said but definitely try to do something to l'emedy the conditions you speak of.

Mr. Fauntroy. Mr. FAUNTROY. Thank you, Mr. Kelley, and thank you for the refer­

ence to Dr. Foster. God bless you. Mr. ROYBAL. Next we will hear from David Robinson. He will be

the last witness for the day. "We thank you very much for coming be­for8 the committee. Please proceed in any way you may desire.

STATEMENT OF DAVID ROBINSON

Mr. ROBINSON. Mr. Chairman, and your colleagues, Reverend Fn,unt­roy, to Dr. Yelder. I am well acquainted with all of you. I am from Mount Moriah Baptist. I have been there 64, years. My name is David Robinson. I live at 114 47th Street NE. This is not the first time I have appeared before a congressional committee iIi an effort seemingly to get something for myself and some of my people. I am going to take a little deviation and I ,von't be more tlum sevel'al minutes. I am a member of the Advisory Board of the National Capital Housing Authority and interestedm people. Uneducated I am, I am 88 ye.ars of age, was as of the 12th day of February. I am a veteran of the FIrst ,",VorId '"'Val'. I happen to be a member of a unit which I am very proud of, 505th Engineers, first group of Negroes ever incorporated into a combat unit in the history of the U.S. Army. "Ye spent 1110re time overseas than any other ac'tive unit in the First World ,",~Tar.

Might I say r' can corroborate most of the things which have been said here today. This lady, Ms. Bennet-I was chairman of the council there. I organized the council in Potomac Gardens and she lived one floor above me. I have seen practically everything these people have spoken of this evening. I want to make very briefly a deviation from the stories of sadness and so forth. I want to express to you, ]\fl'. Con­gressman, and your coworkers, and ask you one thing, would you con­sider the idea of askinp: the Congress to give to the poor people in the city and the poor people in the country, a little more money for sub­sistence. It so happens that I am fortunate in many ways. I have wOi.'ked in many things, selling real ('state; I was a letter carrier in the District of Columbia for 33 years 8 months 10 days. I have been re­tired fOl' 23 years. I know something about Washington. My educa­tion consists of having comnleted only the eighth gr~de in the public schools in the District of Columbia. I had to come otit of school when r was 12 veal'S and 8 months of age to go to work to try to help my parents. Dad was old and seemingly about, to fall. He was 07 years old when he died. Mother was 91. I am the yonng-cst of 12 children and the only one living, thank God for that. But I say to you as I started to say a moment ago, that mllny of the elderly citizens not only in "Washington. D.C., not only those you have heard from today,

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but throughout the country and I have traveled extensively, you would be surprised how far I luive tra "eled.

Many of ~he elderly people are living under almost starvat~on means. That IS a fact. Ancl when they make an E'fiort to get somethmg 01' to get It little help they run up ngainst a stone wall. I note that Our country, and lam a staunch reader of the daily papers and I live by my mdio and I am not interested in the television as such, I live by the radio. 'Were it not for the fact tlntt I l1ave been able to accumu­late a wee bit of money to provide for myself and try to provide for my home, if it were not for that fact, I would. be in bad shape because I draw a little money from Civil Service, retired as a letter carrier; I draw social security; I draw a pension. from the Veterans' Adminis­tration; the snm total is $516 in these high cost-of-living days which we have with us now. That doesn't go too far, and it won't go as far as it does if I hll.d to pay rent. Is that clear ~

[Applause.] GentlemC'll, I am speaking from the standpoint of practicality. 'The

average s~nior citizen is not receiving enough fl'om the Goyernment that he mIght even be able to buy himself palatable and sufficIent food. I have taken from my pocket time after time and I lived in Potomac Gardens, I had to go in there when I got out of the Army because, as I stand here, I have odd size shoes. This is a 12 and thi$ is a 10%. This is due pal,tially to an incident which happened to me in the ,First 'Vol'ld 'Val' and other infirmities which have· come upon me by my working and trying to eam a little money. I would suggest and respectfully request that in making yOUl' report., sirs, would you please ask th(l. people, ask the Congl'essmen, ask the Senators and ask the President. of the United States, to cooperttte to improve our lives.

Our money is going elsewllere, everywhere; every nation in the world seems to be receiving moneys from America while the people who live therein who have labored and tried to be honest citizens and tried to be a credit to the Nation, have been mistreated and mis­handled.

Thank you very much and may the good Lord love you. . r Applause.]

Ul.\ ROYBAL. Thank you, Mr. R.obinson.

STATEMENT OF MRS. BRYAN

Mrs. BRYAN. My name is Mrs. Bryan. I want to say I live here and have never been ]lappier in my life. 'One reason I think elderly people very often. h1 the street are attacked is because they are not alert enough. I remember when I was a child tl)(W had a police whistle. The whistle would SOlUld a long way off and some policeman or somebody would come to your l'escue. Now I believe one of the reasons that our elderly people ~et attacked so much is because we are not alert enough. "When you arc ll1 the street you can't walk along with your head stuck up in the air. It,wouldn't hurt, you toJook around and see sometimes. I remember waiting for the streetcM' at, I think it was 7th and N, and previous to getting on that ('a1' whell I was in the five and ten, there was a gentleman, and he followed me.

Every sto).'e I went in, this man was there. So, I kind of got to thinking, I wonder why everywhere I go I see him. So I sllid to him

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in the last store I was in, I had a big pocketbook and I put it right clown beside me, and I said, "Are you a detective in these stores?" He said, "No." it said, 'f'iV"ell, I thought you were because every store I hQ,ve been ill,~g: have Seen you," and, I said, "I wonder if you had a posItion in one of them as a watchman." He said,"No." But I had become su~',)icious of him becmlse he watched me as I would go in. When I put down my big bag you could see him glance over at that. So I made my mind up, if we are more alert we would be less fol­lowed and bothered less by people who are attacking us.

That same man, when I went to get on the streetcar, there he was. 1)11 tell yOU the truth, T was so mad and I said to him, "And you again." So when I said that to him he just grinned and went off. As it happened, just as I waS-- ,

Mr. ROYBAL. I am sorry I llave to cut you short. ViTe are due back. In fact, we are late already. We thank you vcry much for your testimony. '

Mrs. BRYAN. 1£ we are more aJert there will be less trouble of people following us and bothering us.

Mr. ROYBM,. May I take this opportunity first of all to acknowledge and thank your own Congressman for bejn~ present, and for giving me the opportunity of working with him. Ynu can be sure I will con­tinue to cooperate with your Congressl'nnn and everything which pertains to matters of the District of Columbia. He almost has a guarantee that I will be with him no matter what he does.

Mr. Fauntroy. .. . Mr. FAUN'l'lWY. 'Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On behalf of not only

the senior citizens of the city, but all the citizens of the city, I want to thank you for what you have done here. I know you have missed about two quorum calls. I want to say jf you ever want me to come to your district to say your time was well spent when you missed those guol'um culls, I will be happy to do that because we need more Mem­bers of Congress with your leadership and I look forwa.rd to following it on this question.

:Mr. ROYBAT,. Thank you very much and I wish to thank each and every person who testified and each and everyone of you who are here)\ at this hearing. You ha.ve given us a· tremendous amount of informa­tion and we will be calling upon you ill the future when we make these recommendations in the hope we can generate the interest which will be necessary to put across the pieces of legislation which are impot'tant to the senior citizens of the United States.

STATEMENT OF FRANCIS GLAUDE

Mr. GLAUDB. I want to tell you, t.he problem of the neglect comes from the neglect of onsite management. There is no one there at all tin~es; only from 8 to 5. 'rhat's my complaint. That is why you have bmldlngs bO!l.l'cled up here. There is nobody here to take care of them. I am a retired manager and live 'at 5201 Oonnecticut Avenue. I will be happy to come any time and testify to the fact these people are robbed. The manager is not there and 'the guards don't care.

Ml'. ROYBAl,. Thank you aU for attending today. [Whereupon, at 1 p.m., Thursday, June 3, 19'76, the subcommittee

was adjourned, to l:econvene at the call of the 'Ohair.] .

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APPENDIX

Al?DlTIONAL STATEMENTS SUBMITTED FOR TIre RECORD

¥5 too ANo£LES UNIt"IE!) SCnOOL DISTRICT

~ Garfield Community Adult School I:- 'J

~ 6101 EAS:I'SIXTH B'ntEET. Los ANOEt.EB. CALIFORtlIA 90022

'l'EI.£I'IIO"'" 1218) 262-5163

Oecember 1, 1976

The HO)lorable Edward R. Roybal Congressman, 25th District 300 North Los Angel~s Street Los Angeles, California 90012

Dear Congressman,

The Student Advisory Council ;for the G;lrfie1d Community Adult School 1lerontology Program represents a "onsensus of Senior Citizens in the East Los Angeles unincor­porated area who attend programs at Cas a Maravilla, Casa Lucerna, Fairmount Terrace (Stovall Foundation), East Los Angeles Neighborhood Facility and Ruben Salazar Pllr~. Recently your office held headngs in Los Angnles concerning Crime and the Elderly. UnfortunatelY, we were unable to send a representative. I~e are writing this letter to express our concerns on that subject.

Surely, you are a'l'ure of many of the problems of crime for the elderly: violence, purae. snatching, fear of going out on the street day or night, packs of roaming dogs attack people in some areas, and there is a reluctance to use pubUc racilities (e.g., parks) due to gang conflicts at these locations. Senior Citizens are fearful of calling the police to report gang crimes bacuase gangs will seek out and punish in~ formera. Lenient sentencing enables offenders to pUl'sue ,,!:iminal activitieG with little fear or hesitation. Procedures for collection of damages are complex and may require resources of en~rgy, money, contact and mobility that an elderly person does not have. And after all that "ffort, if the offender is on welfllre, that lIloney can­not be used ;for repayment of damages. MoreD"et, our experiences indicate that many authorities are not too eager to be involv'ed in the programs the elderly have regard­ing crime. Perhaps this disinterest stems from limited personnel, lack of caring for the Mexican community and the loss of consideration for the elderly as individua1l3 to equal rights and protection in the United Stntes sodety.

Solutions "re never easy when complex problems ilre involved. With that in mind we recommend the following suggestions for your consideration.

1. Leash la",8 should be established and strictly enforced.

2. A change in police reporting forms or ''Procedures· to better fuaintain the confidentiality of the name and address of the peTson reporting a crime.

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3. Parental 'responsibility/liability laws should be enforced and publicized. Few parents consider the environment of the child. It is particularly difficult to maintain a positive environment for the child when faced with the negativ:!ty of present day external environment. Mass media focuses on violence and makes fun .,f, good behavior. Many parents must focus their energies in the struggle for basic survival for their families and themselves. How to cope with these demands and still appreciate them­selves lind instill a sense of worth in their children is increasingly difficult in today' s world.

4. Hore and better education of parents' and children can help in this struggle to unde:rstand and cope Idth today's community and national environment and to develop a positive home environment. Such educa­tional programs are par,ticularly important in such communities as the Mexican-American where cultural experiences amI values are not elle same as the Uestern European-American society developed in the United States. Education can help develop greater understanding and ability to cope with these variations in cultural perspective in a changing world.

5. More programs involving older adults intergenerationally should be implemented. Grandparents who may have more free time and more importantly n different perspective on the priorities of family life, should try to counsel parents concerning the development; of the child, especially his or her identity and self-worth." Prog"ams should be developed in which older adults are encourged to work with parents and youths. Intergenerational classes have proven to expand th.'; educational exPerience of the students and lessen discipling problems within the classroom. Moreover, intergenerational relationships and experiences such as those fostered in the classroom, can diminish the isolation of the elderly and perhaps change the image of the elderly as an easy, un­related and disdained target held by many youth.

Sincerely,

Q ·£>~O f-ifbn:6 l1 \e~ldb' Alarcon, pres~dent Garfield Community Adult School Senior Citizena Advisory Council

cc: Abe Friedman Pr. 'Robert Rupert Asseinblynlan Richard Alatorre Asserublynlan Art Torrea Supervisor Ed Edelman Simator S.l. Hayakawa Robert Medina, ilirector

To:

Fran:

Subject:

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Ccmnission on Aging The District of Columbia June 9, 1976

The Sub Camlittee on Housing and Consumer Interest

The District of Columbia's Camlission of Aging

Camlission 's Statanent For 'Insert Into the Record on the Hearings on Victimization of the Elderly June 18, 1976,

The United States Departzrent of Justice has released a survey showing the Victimization Rate For Crmes Against Persons Age 65 and ~ is 31.6 per 1,000 fot' the entire country (the rate ;in cities is higher). The independent population estimates used in this report indicates that there ate over -20 million perrons ;in this age group. This in turn means that there are IlPProximately 632,000' crjJnes ccmnitted against aged personS' '.lh a given' year. The 632,000 figure does not ;include burglary; household l~ceny and auto theft. "Cr:ilres against households" are shown by the age of the head of the household and it may be that many elderly are affected by these crmes'lnile living in a household headed by a younger perl3On. .

Approximately 13.5 million heads of households are age 65 or over. The victimiza.tion rate for this cobalt is 108.8 per thousand. This means that there are approximately 1,468,000 crimes against house­holds ccmnl.tted against age 65 and ''Headed'' households in a given year.

When these figures are canbined, the subsequent risl~ for persons age 65 and over becanes a risk of 140.4 per 1,000 or a total rate of 2,100,000 cr:Ures against this cohart.

The "elderly" population (age 65 and over) continues to increase in . the metropolitan area. Only 5% of our citizens who are 65 and older live in institutions.

There ate strong physical, econanic, and psychological reasons to support the claim that crjJnes against elderly should receive special attention and programmatic response;

1. Physical Reason:

It is obvious that older persons are not physically able to ward off offenders anct.are likely to receive serious injury, A younger person nlfght receive only a minor injury fran a purse

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snatching whereas an older person is likely to receive serious injury resulting in death.

2. Er..onanic Reason:

'The theft or robbery COulq be the total arrount alloted by SSl for food and shelter.

3. Psychological Reason:

The impact on the "psychological and emotional well being of the elderly is seriously impaired. Tremendous arrount of fear seriously affects life I s adjustments.

"Minor crimes are serious crimes when the v:lct:i.J;,l affected is elderly."

'The Elderly Need Special Protection Against Crime because:

- Many have to live belolY the poverty level and an econcmi.c loss is a tremendous impact on their well being.

- They IlXlre than likely live alone,. which increases their vulnerability and becane targets for repeated acts.

- 'Their physical stamina is apt to be djrninished and they can I t defend themselves and are apt to sustain serious injuries.

- 'They are likely to have physical ailments such as loss of Sight, hearing, arthritis, which increases vulnerability.

- They are likely to live in high crime areas because of diminished incanes - this makes than even IlXlre susceptible to fraud and COnfidence gam:ls.

- PhYSical, financial and other reasons make them dependent on public transporta:tion; hence they are lTh'poSed to assailants.

- Because of a loss of status, the elderly are less likely to report crimes they experience or witness, fearing they will not be belieVed. Aware of their own susceptibility to crime many will self impose "house arrest" .and live in double fear - fear to go out and fear to stay hane. "

As an interim measure the cormti...c;sion recannends increased protection at Elderly HoUSing Projects where the Elderly live and at Supennarkets during the first of the IlXlnth and on week ends where Senior Citizens cash checks and shop. Also sane type of guard service should he maintained on a regular basis in Senior Residents where none now exist.

Since an effective preventive program has not been worked out, The District of Columbia I s Coamission on Aging strongly urges that every effort be made to~;estab1ish a cooperative relationship with Law Enforcement Agencies and Coanrunity Organizations for the purpose of providing consultation and a

" mechanism for reducing the problem of crjrninal victinJjzation of older persons.

Walter A. Jones "~

/tA!uJ!;z;; ?l C::7~ Legislative Chrs.

~• Mazique. •

~ 04.~;,r.

i:man Ccmnission ~ District of Columbia "

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